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HISTORICAL ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED AT THE 



COMMEMORATION 



ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 



FIRST ANNUAL TOWN MEETING OF THE TOWN OF SALISBURY, 



OCTOBER 20, A. D. 1841. 



BY SAMUEL CHURCH 



NEW HAVEN: 
HITCHCOCK & STAFFORD, PRINTERS. 

1842. 






IN EXCHANGE 

JAN 5 . 1915 



s.-^ 



At a legal Town Meeting of the inhabitants of the Town of Salisbury, holden Oc- 
tober 20th, 1S41, it was 

Voted, That the thanks of this Town be presented to the Hon. Samuel Church, 
for the Address he has this day delivered. 

Voted, That the Committee of Arrangements be directed to request of Judge 
Chubch a copy of his Address, to be printed under the direction of the Selectmen. 

A true copy of record. Attest, 

ROGER AVERILL, Town Clerk. 



To THE Committee of Arrangements : 

Gentlemen — I have this day received from the Town Clerk and from the Secre- 
tary of your Board, the foregoing votes, requesting a copy of the Address delivered 
by me at our Centennial Town Meeting, October 20th, 1841, for publication. 

I have hesitated much whether in justice to myself I ought to permit the Address 
to be published. It was not intended originally for the public, but rather to give 
some additional interest to our Commemorative Meeting. Besides, I have had 
neither leisure nor patience to prepare it for the public eye. 

If you receive it, gentlemen, you must be content to receive it with all its imper- 
fections. So far as it purports to give a history of our Town, I think it may be 
relied upon as correct ; at least, as nearly so as it could be made by a very cautious 
dependence upon well authenticated tradition, and a resort to public records and 
private documents. 

If its publication will add at all to the gratification of the inhabitants of my native 
Town, or to the pleasure of our widely-dispersed friends abroad, to whom I am 
under many obligations of gratitude, I consent to it. 

SAMUEL CHURCH. 
To Messrs. Eliphalet Whittlesev, ~ 
John C. Coffing, 

Alexander H. Holley, I Coinmittee of 
Jared S. Harrison, j Arrangements. 

Samuel C. Scoville, 
rcoer avepjll, j 

Salisbury, January 21, 1842. 



i 



ADDRESS. 



Mr. Moderator,* 

This day completes a century since the first of your prede- 
cessors, Thomas Newcomb, presided as moderator of our 
first Town Meeting. Our records do not inform us where 
that meeting was convened ; probably not far from the place 
where we are now assembled. More than one half of this 
period has passed away since I have lived, and you, Sir, have 
survived nearly three fourths of it. 

Within this brief space, what mighty events have trans- 
pired ! Kingdoms have risen up and kingdoms have fallen, 
and almost the entire map of the world has been changed. 
The progress of science and the arts, the recognition and se- 
curity of human rights, the tolerant spirit of genuine Chris- 
tianity, all have been in full and successful accomplishment, 
within the last century, to an extent never before witnessed iii 
this world's history. And within our own town, hardly an 
evidenoe of its original identity exists, except its hills and 
waters and public records ! Were our powers of fancy and 
anticipation of prophetic mould, what think you. Sir, we 
could now see of the results of another century of equal pro- 
gress ? 

Our ancestors, whose deeds and memories we would now 
recall, and of whom our early records speak, were free in 
spirit and purpose, and yet were the subjects of a master ; 

* Lot Norton, Esq- 



and our town was an appendage of a dependent Colony. For 
us, and our children, the bonds of servitude have been broken, 
and we are called upon this day, by every motive which grat- 
itude can suggest, to cherish and express our veneration for 
the character and example of those departed men, and to ten- 
der the offering of devoted hearts to that Being who has been 
our fathers' God. 

To commemorate the birth-day and perpetuate the annals 
of a retired New England town, may seem, to some, a ti ifiing 
affair. But there is nothing dearer, to a man of sensibility, 
than his home — the scenes of his youthful adventures and 
hopes — the earth upon which his fathers have trodden — the 
mountains upon which they have looked — the streams they 
have followed. He listens to stories of objects so endeared 
to him, with untiring ear. The old man, in his recollection of 
these, will go back to the times of his boyhood, and for a mo- 
ment live over again the days of his young, unclouded hopes. 
And the youth looks upon them all, though inanimate, as his 
cherished friends. The long absent emigrant, on his return, 
as he views these well remembered objects, fancies himself 
surrounded by the nearly forgotten companions of his former 
days, which such associations bring back to his memory; and, 
though reflections such as these may bring over his heart a 
cloud of momentary sorrow, as the image of some long lost 
friend is renewed before him ; yet in such a grief it is luxury 
to indulge. Here is the only true source of patriotijjpi ; and 
the man who loves not to indulge in recollections of the home 
of his youth, is constituted of such materials as traitors are 
made of. 

But a New England town, when philosophically considered, 
is of more importance than at first may be supposed. It is 
not a mere corporation, but is a little commonwealth of itself. 
Our towns are pure democracies. Here, alone, the people de- 
liberate, decide, and act, without the intervention of a second 
power ; and their most important interests are here consulted 



and regulated by themselves. The chief objects of taxation 
are entrusted to the towns. The great and absorbing interests 
of learning and religion are within their jurisdiction, in their 
capacities of school and ecclesiastical societies. 

In town meetings, these primary assembhes of the people, 
our youth and young men are instructed in the first elements 
of political science ; not by study alone, but by actual obser- 
vation and participation. Here have been the nurseries of 
our statesmen, and here, too, the quiet duties and'submission of 
the citizen are first learned. I am persuaded, that without 
these rudimental institutions of civil liberty. New England 
could never have furnished her bright example in the struggle 
for independence ; nor could we have so successfully carried 
out the dangerous experiment of a people governed by them- 
selves. My fellow-townsmen, we have a right to be proud of 
our town, and to perpetuate its history. 

In this meeting, we cannot restrain our fancies from run- 
ning back to a time still earlier than the occasion we now 
commemorate. We see here these hills rising above us, these 
streams flowing along beside us, and these valleys and lakes 
spread out before us ; and here they have been, from a time 
we know not of. But who were the men who lived and 
ranged among them all, before our fathers saw them ? The 
rightful lords of these woods and waters, who were they ? 
Here and there some little memorial of their existence may 
even now be found in our fields. Often, in former days, as I 
have wandered along the banks of the Housatonuc, the arrow 
head of the Indian's bow, or his rude stone axe, has attracted 
my attention. I have found them of various dimensions and 
fashions — some rough in workmanship, and some displaying 
taste and ingenuity of construction ; and never did I gather 
up these relics of a forgotten race, without the silent, instinct- 
ive inquiry, — From whence was this arrow tfirown ? By the 
chieftain in the battle, or the Indian in the chase ? I have 
seen, as the falling banks of the river annually crumbled 



8 

away, whole skeletons of men exposed, in an upright or sit- 
ting posture, and have, in my young imagination, addressed 
them, almost as living men, — Who and what were ye once ? 

Upon the first arrival ofthe white men here, many of the abo- 
rigines still remained, clustered in the valleys along the streams 
and lakes. They had too long been within the reach of the 
enervating influence of the whites. Our Puritan ancestors 
had, for some years before, occupied the lands along the Con- 
necticut river on the one side ; and the Dutch of New Am- 
sterdam and its dependencies, had been their neighbors on the 
other. The fearless independence, the noble bearing of the 
Indian character, was gone. The Indians here, were peace- 
able, harmless, and servile. 

There seems to be much plausibility in the conjecture, that 
the race of Indians found here by our fathers, was not the 
original tenantry of this region ; but had come in as wander- 
ing tribes or bands from other forests, driven perhaps by wars, 
to take the place of an earlier and more noble people. The 
tradition is, with much probability, authenticated, that King 
Philip, the last of New England's proud Sachems, and the re- 
lentless foe of the Puritans, extended his ravages on this side 
of Connecticut river, and that he burned, or otherwise broke 
up, some settlements of English and friendly Indians in the 
present town of Simsbury, and particularly an Indian village 
there, called Weatogue, the name of which still remains ; and 
these Indians, flying from Philip, settled down upon the banks 
of the Housatonuc, within the present limits of Salisbury and 
Canaan, giving the name of their former home to their new 
residence. 

Hubbard, in his history of Indian wars, affirms it, that the 
Indians as far west as Hudson's or Dutch river, were con- 
cerned in Philip's wars ; and Bancroft, speaking of the Indians 
of New England, says, " The clans that disappeared from the 
ancient hunting grounds, did not always become extinct ; they 
often migrated to the north and west. The country between 



the banks of the Connecticut and the Hudson, was possessed 
by independent villages of the Mohegans, kindred with the 
Manhattans, whose few smokes once rose amidst the forests 
of York Island." The Indians of these villages spoke the 
same language, the Mohegan, or Pequod dialect, and which 
was^ with perhaps some variation, the language common to 
the Indians of New England. The Indians here, were proba- 
bly connected in some relation with the Stockbridge, or Mo- 
heaconnuc tribe, and perhaps made part of the tribes or clans 
lower down the river, at Kent and New Milford, and connect- 
ed in amicable relations with the Indians who acknowledged 
the sachem Wyantenock as their common protector. This 
chief resided near the Great Falls in New Milford. I have 
myself, when a child, conversed with old men, who could re- 
collect the remnant of tribes considerably populous, in Wea- 
togue, near the former residence of the White family, and on 
the noi'thern margin of Wonunscopomuc lake, (now called 
Furnace Pond,) and also on the eastern shore of Indian Pond, 
in Sharon. 

There was, upon the first arrival of the Dutch settlers here, 
a well defined Indian trail, or path leading from the Stock- 
bridge tribe, along the valley of the Housatonuc, through 
Weatogue, to the Scaticoke settlement of Indians in Kent. 
Apple trees had sprung up, and were growing along that path, 
through its whole extent, at unequal distances, accurately 
enough marking its course. Many of these were standing 
when I was a youth, and some I believe remain to this day. 
Tradition has pointed out the spot, on the easterly &ide of 
Wonunscopomuc lake, upon which the Indians held their coun- 
cils and powows. It is in the grove, a little vv^est of the road 
leading from Furnace Village to Town Hill, and near a tall 
pine tree, now standing, overlooking the lake. Frequently, 
when I have stood upon that interesting spot, I have attempt- 
ed to call up before me the groups of savage men who con- 
gregated on that ground. I have, in fancy there, looked 



10 

upon the grave, stern face of the counselor, the fierce visage 
of the impatient warrior, in his listening attitude, and the en- 
circling group of women and children around. It was, and 
still is, a plat of romantic beauty, well fitted to call forth the 
innate religious feeling of those men of nature. This spot was 
frequently visited by wandering Indians in after days, and the 
stately pine which then marked the place, was long known to 
the white inhabitants, as the Indian tree. 

Although the Indians of this neighborhood were friendly, 
yet such was the well known treachery of the Indian charac- 
ter, and so frequent were the causes of disturbance among the 
northern and western tribes, and so dreadful were the tales 
of savage cruelty, that the early white settlers were cau- 
tious in their intercourse with them, and were constantly on 
their guard against surprise and attack. A supply of ammu- 
nition was always on hand, furnished at the expense of the 
town ; forts or block houses were erected for defense and 
refuge ; and the house first erected for the minister, and which 
was improved as the house of religious worship, was con- 
structed with a view to defense, and with port holes, through 
which a fire of musketry could be kept up against assailing 
Indians. Our fathers assembled to worship God, with arms 
in their hands ; unlike us, their children, who have none to 
molest or make us afraid. 

One of these Block Houses was erected at the junction of 
the roads opposite the late dwelling house of Nathaniel Church, 
at Weatogue, and its stone foundations have been visible in 
my day. Another, a little southerly from the present dwelling 
house of William P. Russell, Esq. — the first location of the 
Dutcher family, nearly then inclosed by deep coves and dense 
thickets ; and still another, on the northerly side of Wonuns- 
copomuc lake, not far from the present residence of Newman 
Holley, Esq. 

Before the charter of the town was granted, Thomas Lamb, 
in behalf of the Governor and Company of the Connecticut 



11 

Colony, purchased certain Indian rights of land in the present 
town of Sharon, and in Weatogue, " for the consideration of 
eighty pounds and divers victuals and clothes." This deed 
was signed by the marks of many Indians, who describe them- 
selves as of the Indian nation, belonging to Muttapacuck. 
The name of one of the signers of this deed, as nearly as I 
can read it upon the ancient state records, was Tocconuc. 
Soon afterwards, the Indians complained to the general court, 
that they had been defrauded by Lamb in this purchase ; and 
a committee was appointed to investigate the alledged causes 
of complaint. Lamb afterwards received a grant of land 
from the Colony for his services and expenses in the nego- 
tiation. 

The Indian burial places, as well as any thing, designate the 
places of Indian settlements. There was one on the eastern 
side of the north pond ; another on the east side of the road 
leading through Weatogue and a little southerly from the old 
burying yard on my late father's farm ; and still another, to 
which allusion has before been made, on the bank of the 
Housatonuc, on the old White farm. This probably belonged 
to an earlier race than the Indians found here by our fathers. 
The annual encroachment of the river by the spring freshets, 
upon the banks, frequently exposed the bones of the buried 
Indians, which upon exposure, became dust. These exposures 
have long since ceased, and probably the shifting current of 
the stream has borne along with it to the ocean, the last ashes 
of the Indian, as has the stream of time borne away his 
memory from among men. 

The Dutch emigrants before their settlement here, made 
purchases of land of the Indian occupants, supposing, as has 
been said, that the intervals of the Housatonuc were within 
the limits of the province of New York, from whence they 
emigrated. William White and Abraham Vandusen purchased 
the Indian title to a tract of land lying, as I suppose, about 
two miles south of the falls. And in January, 1720, John 



12 

Dikeman and Lawrence Knickerbacor, of Livingston's Manor, 
in the province of New York, purchased of the Indians a tract 
of land lying on the west side of the Housatonuc river, " be- 
ginning at the upper falls, south of Wootawk, (meaning Wea- 
togue,) thence ruimiiig along the side of a hill called Wooto- 
wanchu, now called Sugar Hill, two miles, to the land pur- 
chased of the Indians by White and Vandusen ; thence with 
a straight line to a mile above the falls of a brook called 
Wachocastinook, (probably the falls at Lime Rock furnace,) 
thence south three miles, thence east to the river, &c." Thomas 
Knowles and Andrew Hinnian, of Woodbury, about the same 
time, made a very extensive Indian purchase, including, as 
they probably supposed, nearly all the feasible land of the 
town, described in their deed as lying on the river, six miles 
in length, north and south, and four miles wide, east and west. 
These grants, however, were afterwards all relinquished to 
the Colony ; the Indian right being considered then, as now, 
only as a right of occupancy, not of sale ; the right of pre- 
emption being solely in the Colony. All these grantees, how- 
ever, as a compensation for their expenses, received grants of 
land from the Colony. After the charter of the town was 
granted, and as late as 1742, the Indians made claim to lands 
here ; and in October of that year, Daniel Edwards, of New 
Haven, was appointed to purchase of the Indians, two miles 
square, at the northeast corner of the town, and to deliver to 
one Tocconuc, two blankets to resign his claim. 

The territory now including the towns of Salisbury, Sharon, 
Canaan, and Norfolk, before the survey of these towns was 
made, was known as the western lands. The first grant made 
of lands in this town by the general court, was made to Will- 
iam Gaylord, of New Mil ford. This grant embraced nearly 
the whole of the Weatogue intervals. Many other grants 
were subsequently made, before the sale of the town to pro- 
prietors ; among these, were Woodbridge's, Lamb's, 

Fitch's, Knickerbacor's, Bissell's, Butcher's, Wadsworth's, 



13 

Whiting's, Hinman's, Stiles', Lewis', Newton's, Knowles', and 
perhaps some others. Mr. Thomas Stiles is now the pro- 
prietor of some part of the lands included in the grant to his 
ancestor. In no other instance do the heirs of any of the 
original grantees possess any of the lands originally granted 
to their ancestors. 

I do not find that the general court made any grant of lands 
here to Yale College ; although in all the other towns em- 
braced within the northwestern lands, a grant of three hun- 
dred acres in each, was made to that institution. But as early 
as 1730, the trustees of the College received a deed of six 
hundred and twenty-eight acres of land from Rev. John Fisk 
and James Leavins, of Killingly, in exchange for land of equal 
value in that town. This land was located southeasterly of 
the center of the town, and still remains the property of the 
College, in the occupancy of tenants under leases for nine 
hundred and ninety-nine years, yielding an annual rent to the 
College. 

Fisk and Leavins had received from the Colony a grant of 
this land in October, 1729. As these lands contribute annually 
to the support of the College, they have euer been treated as 
exempt from taxation for other purposes, under the provisions 
of the statute of 1702. Whether the provisions of that statute 
really extended to lands thus acquired, it is now probably too 
late to inquire. 

Settlements of white people commenced within the present 
limits of this town, several years before the public sale of the 
lands. Three Dutch families from Livingston's Manor, in the 
province of New York, commenced the settlement in Wea- 
togue. Their land? were purchased of William Gaylord and 
Stephen Noble, of New Milford, by deeds dated August 29, 
1720. These were the families of William White, Abraham 
Vandusen, and RulufT Dutcher. They probably took pos- 
session of their lands the same season. White was by birth 
an Englishman, but had long before been connected with the 



14 

Dutcli inhabitants of the New York province. He married a 
Dutch wife and had reared a family. He located himself 
upon the farm lately owned by my father, Nathaniel Church, 
and a few rods north of the small stream which flows east- 
wardly across the highway to the cove below. White had 
several sons, who settled around him; — George, on the 
west side of the road, opposite his father's house ; Benjamin, 
a little south of the brook ; Joshua, still further south, and 
near the river ; and Isaac, who resided with his father. Ben- 
jamin was a man of considerable repute ; he afterwards re- 
turned to the province of New York, where he died. The 
other sons of William White lived and died here. None of 
the lineal descendants of this gentleman, bearing the family 
name, remain with us; yet there are many from female branches. 
Rufus Landon and his children ; the wife and children of 
Calvin Moore ; and many others, now our inhabitants, are 
lineal branches of this original family. 

Vandusen settled upon the farm now owned by Elias H. 
Joslin, and the lands adjoining on the north. His sons wei'fe 
Henry or Hendrick, Godfrey, James, Isaac, and perhaps some 
others. Captain Henry Vandusen, Horatio Vandusen, and 
their children, are the only lineal representatives of Abraham 
Vandusen, of the same name, now remaining among us. 

Dutcher settled upon lands still further north, and extending 
to the state line, or near to it. His sons were Christopher, John, 
Cornelius, and Gabriel. Christopher, the eldest son, settled in 
Canaan, where his descendant, Rulufi' Dutcher, now resides. 
The others sons remained in this town. The name of this 
family has become extinct here ; yet much of its blood flows 
in descendants of the female line. The wife and children of 
William P. Russell, Esq. are of this family. 

The Knickerbacor family came into the town soon after 
White and others. John Knickerbacor occupied the Knicker- 
bacor grant, at the mouth of Salmon Kill river. Some of the 
lineage of this ancient family are here to this day. Cor- 



15 

nelius Knickerbacor, a brother of John, settled at the Furnace 
Village, about the same time that John came here. His dwell- 
ing house was nearly on the same spot where the silversmith 
shop of Wilham C. Botsford now stands. Cornelius Knicker- 
bacor's was for some time the only white family in that sec- 
tion of the town. He afterwards removed to Sharon. 

Thomas Lamb, I believe, was the first New England man 
who settled in this town. He emigrated, I suppose, from 
Springfield, but the precise time of his settlement here I can- 
not ascertain. He received several grants of land before the 
sale of the town. He located a tract of fifty acres at Lime 
Rock, upon a grant made to a Sergeant Tibbals, for services in 
the Pequod war. He received another grant of one hundred 
acres on the northeast side of the Furnace pond ; and after 
the sale of the town, he became the owner of four and one 
half rights. He secured the water privileges at Lime Rock, 
at the outlet of the Furnace pond, at the falls west of the 
center, now owned by N. Clark, as well as the outlet of the 
pond on the mountain. Indeed, he was the distinguished spec- 
ulator of his day. His place of residence was probably first 
at Lime Rock ; but he afterwards resided on the hill, south- 
easterly of the Furnace Village, where Thomas Conklin form- 
erly lived. He left the town about the year 1746, and became 
a mariner, and resided successively in New Jersey, Maryland, 
and North Carolina. 

Mr. Caleb Woodworth, the ancestor of our respected fel- 
low townsman, Josiah Woodworth, I suppose, was the first 
white man who settled with a family in the neighborhood of 
the Ore Hill. He came into the town as early as 1738. 
Thomas Baylis settled at the center, where William Bush- 
nell now lives, as early as 1740. John Weldon came into 
the town in 1740, and Isaac Vosburgh in 1742 ; both located 
themselves in the north part of the town, near where the 
late Colonel Elijah Stanton lived and died. Samuel Beebe 
settled near the upper or little falls of the Housatonuc, and 



16 

where John Adam now hves, about the year 1740. Within 
one year after the incorporation of the town, there were 
forty-five tax paying inhabitants here. The ore bed, the iron 
works of Thomas Lamb, at Lime Rock, and the various 
water privileges discovered here, probably invited emigrants ; 
though the appearance of the land was at first uninviting. 
The hills appeared barren, and with little wood to cover them ; 
the frequent Indian fires had nearly destroyed the timber, and 
the valleys were covered with a tall and useless grass, called 
bent-grass. 

At the May session of the general court of the Colony, 
1732, a committee was appointed, consisting of Edmund 
Lewis, Esq., of Stratford, and William Gaylord and Stephen 
Noble, of New Milford, with directions to lay out one or more 
townships, in the northwestern lands, if in their opinion they 
were such as to accommodate a town. In the following sum- 
mer, the committee explored the lands and laid out the towns 
of Salisbury and Sharon. They began their survey of this 
town on the line of Massachusetts Colony, and on the bank of 
the Housatonuc river, and run thence west, nine and a half 
degrees north, seven miles and one half to the northward end 
of the line of partition between this Colony and the province 
of New^ York. This boundary is upon Tocconuc mountain. 
Thence they ran south, twelve and a half degrees west in the 
Colony line, eight and three quarters miles to a bound about 
eight rods east of the Indian pond ; thence east, nine and a 
half degrees south, seven miles to Housatonuc river ; thence 
following the river to the first bounds. The committee rep- 
resented the lands as much broken by mountains and ponds, 
but were of opinion that the land would accommodate a suit- 
able number of persons for a town. The lands thus surveyed 
they designated as township M. 

In May, 1733, Nathaniel Stanley, Esq. and Capt. John 
Marsh were appointed by the General Court to take in sub- 
scriptions for the lands in township M., and the avails of the 



17 

sales were to be appropriated for the support of schools in 
such towns as had before been settled. I do not know that 
any thing was ever done under this appointment. But at the 
October Session of the Assembly, (then called the General 
Court,) in the year 1737, the lands in this town were ordered 
to be sold at Hartford, on the third Wednesday of May, 1738, 
with a reservation of former grants. For this purpose, the 
• lands were divided into twenty-five rights. One of these 
rights was appropriated to the first settled minister ; one for 
the use of the ministry for ever, settled according to the con- 
stitution and order of the churches established by law in this 
Colony ; and one for the support of schools. Here is the ori- 
gin of the ministerial and school funds of the town. The re- 
maining rights were purchased by individual proprietors. 
The original proprietors were Thomas Lamb, Thomas Fitch, 
(afterwards Governor of the Colony,) Christopher Dutcher, 
Elias Reed, John Beebe, James Beebe, Daniel Edwards, Jo- 
seph Tuttle, David Allen, George White, Joshua White, Titus 
Brown, Edward Phelps, Thomas Pierce, Thomas Newcomb, 
Benjamin White, Eleazur Whittlesey, Richard Seymour, Rob- 
ert Walker, and Tliomas Norton. It is not known that any 
of the lands originally drawn, remain now in the occupancy 
of the descendants of the original proprietors of them, unless 
it be the lands owned by the children of Henry Gay, the 
descendants of Elias Reed. ^^^^^^^^ 

The proprietors held their first meeting in this town, on the 
12th day of April, 1739, and directed the manner of making 
the division of lands, and established their rules of proceed- 
ing. Among other things, they directed that near the center 
of the first division there should be a proper space laid out 
for a green, or market place, about thirty rods square. This 
green was accordingly laid out on Town Hill, and includes a 
part of the burying yard there. They reserved from draft, 
privileges for a saw mill, on the first great falls of the Fell- 
kill, and also, " at Succonups brook, near the place where the 



18 

same runs out of the southernmost of two large ponds, lying 
almost close together." The first of these locations was near 
the Lime Rock Furnace, and the latter a little below the Fur- 
nace, at Chapinville. Thomas Lamb, however, the persever- 
ing Thomas Lamb, soon after procured a privilege of erecting 
a saw mill at Lime Rock. 

In pursuance of the first votes of the proprietors, four divi- 
sions of land were laid out. The lots in these divisions were • 
distributed among the proprietors by lot, or chance. All the 
subsequent divisions were by pitches, made by each proprietor, 
of the quantity of land to which he was entitled in each divi- 
sion, as authorized by vote of the proprietors, and surveyed 
under the direction of the proprietors' committee. The first 
division commenced in a tier of lots running north and south, 
near the present school house, at Lime Rock, and extending 
westerly across Town Hill, and around on the west and north- 
west side of Furnace Pond. These lots contained from fifty to 
one hundred and fifty acres, sized according to quality. A 
highway, six rods wide, was reserved over them ; and this 
accounts for the spacious road across Town Hill. What 
induced the proprietors to make provision for a road so broad, 
with green and market place, in that lower section of the town, 
is not now certainly known. They probably believed that 
the ore hill at the western extremity, and the water power at 
the eastern limit of this di^ion^f land, together with the su- 
perior beauty of its most elevated point, would constitute that, 
as the central point of business ; which, for that reason, re- 
ceived the name of Town Hill. The lots in the other divi- 
sions of land were not always contiguous, but surveyed and 
drawn in widely scattered locations, which cannot be conven- 
iently designated here. 

Although there was a population to some extent here before 
the incorporation of the Town, yet the people possessed no 
political rights. They were protected by the laws, but had 
no voice in their enactment. The first political power en- 



19 

joyed by this people, was conferred in 1728, At that time 
there were few enclosures, and the horses and cattle were per- 
mitted to run at large, and without restraint. It was neces- 
sary to distinguish the beasts of one town from those of an- 
other, so that estrays might be returned and reclaimed. Each 
town, among the new settlements, had its own form of brand, 
prescribed by the Assembly. Every beast was branded. The 
General Court, at its October session, 1728, conferred upon 
the people of Weatogue the special liberty of using a brand 
in the form of an X, together with the privilege of electing a 
brander. The mode of choice was entirely democratic, 
though peculiar. It was directed by a resolve of the Assem- 
bly, that a paper should be circulated among the people, upon 
which each man should write the name of the person of his 
choice for that office, — that the paper should be returned to 
the Town Clerk of New Milford, and should determine the 
result of the election, as it disclosed the state of the vote. I 
have not been successful in my inquiries to ascertain the dis- 
tinguished individual who first received political honors from 
the people of Salisbury ! 

In the spring of 1741, the population had so much increased 
as to encourage the hope that the ministry could be supported 
here, and the people became impatient for the possession of 
the civil and religious privileges enjoyed by the incorporated 
towns in the Colony. There were no roads nor bridges, nor 
the power of constructing any. Especially, religious instruc- 
tion and worship could not be maintained, without corporate 
powers ; and therefore a petition was presented to the Gene- 
ral Court, in October, 1741, for a town charter, and it was 
granted. Among the powers conferred, the most important 
one, was, to embody in Church estate, according to the laws 
of this government. At that time there was a connection be- 
tween the Church and the State, nearly as close as existed in 
the mother country. 



20 

Mr. Benjamin White, by the charter, was empowered to warn 
the first town meeting, and direct the time and place of meet- 
ing. He did so, and it was holden, according to the warning, 
on the 9th day of November, 1741, and was organized by the 
choice of Thomas Newcomb as Moderator ; Cyrenus New- 
comb, Town Clerk ; Benjamin White, Thomas Newcomb, and 
John Smith, Selectmen ; Samuel Beebe, Treasurer ; Thomas 
Austin, Constable ; with the usual minor officers. Thus, we 
became a town, by the name of Salisbury. 

From whence our name was derived, our records do not 
inform us. A tradition, which has been adopted as true, by 
Rev. Mr. Crossman, in his New Year Sermon, preached in 
this house, on the 3d day of January, 1803, says, our corpo- 
rate name was derived from a man whose name was Salis- 
bury, and who, it is supposed, resided a few feet south of the 
present garden of William Bushnel, at the center. There is 
much reason to doubt the authenticity of this tradition ; some 
parts of it are incredible, and I am disposed to reject it alto- 
gether. That a man of that name once resided at the place 
mentioned, may be true ; but that he was a personage who 
would give his name to a town, I do not believe. His name 
does not appear upon our records ; he owned no land, he paid 
no tax ; he was obscure and degraded. The traditional ru- 
mor is, that he removed from this town into the State of New 
York, where he was convicted of the murder of his female 
slave, and sentenced to be hung on his arriving at the age of 
one hundred years, and in the meantime was permitted to go 
at large ! There was no Colony with laws thus administered. 
It is much more probable, that our name, like those of most 
New England towns, was borrowed from a city or town of 
the same name in the mother country. 

The first list of taxable estate here, was made up in 1742, 
and amounted to the sum of £2279 IO5. 6c?. In 1755, it 
amounted to £9988 4s. 6d. This was the grand list, upon 
which the first State tax was assessed upon this town. 



In 1756, the number of inhabitants was 1100. In 1774, 
there were 1936 white, and 44 colored inhabitants. Under 
the first census, taken by authority of the Government of the 
United States, in 1790, there were 2070 inhabitants; in 1800, 
2266; in 1810, 2321 ; in 1820, 2695 ; in 1830, 2580 ; in 1840, 
2551 inhabitants. 

Under the revised system of assessments, introduced in 
1820, the hst of this town amounted to the sum of i30,826, 
and in the year 1840, to the sum of $41,805; showing an in- 
crease, for the last twenty years, of twenty-five per cent. 
The present number of electors is 493. 

I have said before, that previous to the act of incorpora- 
tion, there were no public roads here ; yet there were some 
w^ell defined paths. The most prominent among these, was 
the one leading from Butchers, in Weatogue, and follow- 
ing, as I suppose, the general direction of the present high- 
way to Fui'nace Village, and thence along nearly to the Ore 
Hill, and down through Sharon Valley to Sacketfs Farm, in 
Dover, nearly west of the southwest corner of the town of 
Sharon. Another path led from the Oi-e Hill, and in the vi- 
cinity of what we call the under mountain road, to the iron 
works at Ousatonuc. how called Great Barrington. This was 
called the ore path ; and iron ore, in leathern bags, was trans- 
ported on horses, over this road, from the Ore Hill to the 
forge. Another path connected the Ore Hill with Lamb's 
iron works, at Lime Rock ; and another extended from 
Lamb's works to the fording place, about one half mile below 
the present Falls Bridge. 

In the division of the town, by the proprietors, an allow- 
ance for roads was made, (jver nearly all the lots, but none 
were actually located by them, unless it was the six rod high- 
way, over the first division lots, across Town Hill. The first 
recorded survey of a highway, was made Nov. 6th, 1744, from 
Gabriel Butcher's, in the northeast section of the town, to 
Benjamin White's. Another, the same year, from Cornelius 



22 

Knickerbacor's, at the Furnace, to Samuel Bellow's, at the 
eastern foot of Smith's Hill. Another, in 1746, from White's, 
in Wcatogue, westerly to the foot of the hill, called by us 
Frink's Hill. This road has been discontinued for several 
years. Another, the same year, from Furnace Village, by 
Nathaniel Everts', to the Colony line ; and another, the same 
year, from Thomas Baylis', at the center, easterly, to the foot 
of the mountain, near Chauncey Reed's, and thence southerly 
to Lamb's iron works. These were among the first legally 
established highways. 

The first bridge erected across the Housatonuc river, was 
the falls bridge, for many years known as Burrall's bridge. 
This bridge was built about the year 1744. Butcher's bridge 
was erected in 1760. A bridge at the south part of the town, 
about one half mile below the present bridge, was erected 
about the year 1790. It was built by funds raised by a lottery 
granted by the General Assembly, and was long known as the 
lottery bridge. It was discontinued upon the opening of the 
present road, called the Johnston road, leading from the late 
Nathaniel Gr^jen's to South Canaan, in the year 1808. Be- 
fore the erection of these bridges, access to this town was 
difficult from the east. There were but few fording places 
upon the river, and these could only be improved when the 
river was very low, in the summer or fall. Indeed, I believe 
no more than, one fording place was improved, which was 
about one half mile below the falls bridge. The river could 
be forded, with some difficulty, near William Sardam's. 
Canoes were used for the transportation of persons, and I have 
not been able to learn whether any ferries were at any time 
established ; I believe there weje none. Horses and cattle 
could cross the river only by swimming. 

In investigating some titles, some years ago, of lands in 
Weatogue, I found the prominent description of one corner of 
a tract, to be, Christopher's canoe place. I infer, therefore, 
that this was a well known crossing, aud near to the present 



23 

residence of Ruluff Dutcher, in Canaan, whose ancestor was 
Christopher Datcher. 

Perhaps there is not an ancient highway in the town, which 
can now be accurately defined. We can depend only upon 
the practical location, or the dedication of the highways by 
usage, as the legal evidence of their existence and extent. 

Rev. Mr. Grossman, in his Sermon, says, that the charter 
of this town was granted in 1745, and signed by Governor 
Law. This is an error, Mr. Grossman has confounded the 
charter of the town with the deed of confirmation, which deed 
was executed in May, 1745, and signed by Govei^nor Law, 

This town was originally attached to the county of New 
Haven, and remained a part of that county until the county 
of Litchfield was constituted, -in 1751. 

For several years after the incorporation of the town, little 
business, which to us would appear important, was transacted. 
The ministerial and school lands were leased upon long terms 
of years, and a fund created for the partial support of the 
gospel and the schools. These funds remain, diminished some- 
what by the depreciation of continental money during the 
war of the revolution, but since have been increased from oth- 
er sources. 

By-Laws and regulations for the killing of beasts of prey, 
were necessary for some years, and bounties were offered for 
their destruction. Wolves, especially, were abundant, and 
committed extensive depredations. It is only within a few 
years, that they have been driven entirely from our mountains. 
Bears, deer, and other game for the hunter, were also numerous, 
and many and interesting have been the tales of the hunters' 
feats, with which the old men of other days have amused 
their children. The last of Bruin's race, ever found upon our 
soil, was killed by Richard P. Stanton, on the mountain east 
of Thomas B. Bos worth's, in the winter of 1821. 

As one of the most prominent purposes to be accomplished 
by corporate privileges, was the support of the gospel minis- 



24 

try here, so the earliest efforts of the town were directed to 
that object. As early as January, 1742, a committee was ap- 
pointed to "seek out for a minister to preach to us three 
months." As yet, there was no established place of public 
worship in tlie town, and no building which could accommo- 
date even the then few inhabitants ; and therefore the town 
designated places of worship in its different sections, that all 
might be alternately accommodated. The house of Henry 
Vandusen at Weatogue, of Cornelius Knickerbacor at Furnace 
Village, and of Nathaniel Buell at Lime Rock, were estab- 
lished as places of meeting ; and this system was pursued un- 
til after the call of Mr. Lee. 

In June, 1742, a gentleman whose name was Hesterbrook, 
was employed to preach three months. Of this gentleman, or 
his character, I know nothing. In April, 1743, an unsuccessful 
attempt was made to call a minister. In the succeeding, month 
the effort was renewed, and Mr. Thomas Lewis was invited 
to preach on probation. He preached seventeen Sabbaths, 
but not proving acceptable to the people, no call for settle- 
ment was given. I have not been able to learn any thing of 
the history of Mr. Lewis. On the 3d day of January, 1744, 
Mr. Jonathan Lee, of Lebanon, received a call for settlement, 
which was accepted. The letter of acceptance was as fol- 
lows : 

"Salisbury, Aug. 19, 1744. 
" To the Inhabitants of the Town aforesaid. 

" Gentlemen and Brethren, — I have again carefully con- 
sidered your call to me to labor with you in the saci-ed work 
of the gospel ministry. I have endeavored to hear and dis- 
cern the call of God, which is my only rule to act by. I 
have considered your proposals for my maintainance and sup- 
port ; among which, as I understand them, are as follows : — 
You have voted annually to give me forty pounds, lawful 
money, which, in Old Tenor money, amounts to £160 pounds. 
And, for the fourth year of my ministry, you have voted to 



25 

add fifty shillings, lawful money ; and for the fifth year, you 
have voted to add fifty shillings more, of the same tenor, and 
so to continue, which amounts to £180 pounds of Old Tenor 
bills, being £45 pounds of lawful money. And having re- 
ceived encouragements of other needed assistances and helps, 
and, as far as I can discovei', I being called not only of you, 
but of God, I therefore do hereby testify mine acceptance of 
the call, and your proposals, and hereby profess my willing- 
ness to labor for your good in the work of the gospel minis- 
try, according as I may be assisted by the grace of Almighty 
God ; and hoping and trusting in his goodness, and depending 
upon a continual remembrance in the fervent prayers of the 
faithful, I give and devote myself to Christ, and my services 
to you for his sake, who am your friend and servant, 

"Jonathan Lee." 
He had preached on probation for a short time before. Pre- 
vious to Mr. Lee's call, the town had voted to erect for the 
minister a log house, thirty feet long and twenty- four feet 
wide. A clergyman of the present day would consider such 
accommodations somewhat restricted ! This house, too, was 
intended, and used temporarily, as the meeting house, and was 
situated near the northwest corner of Thomas Stiles' garden. 
The terms of Mr. Lee's settlement, aside from the right of 
land appropriated to the first minister, were forty pounds, law- 
ful money, with an annual increase until it should amount to 
forty-five pounds, or one hundred and eighty pounds in Old 
Tenor bills ; as appears by his letter of acceptance. 

Though our fathers were indeed poor, and had few facilities 
for raising the means of support for their Minister, yet the 
privileges of the Gospel were to them of inestimable value, 
and to enjoy them, was the great purpose of their association ; 
and they submitted to privations little realized by us, to attain 
and secure them. And after all, had not their Minister him- 
self made sacrifices equally with his people, their efforts would 
not have succeeded. The log house erected for the Minister 



26 

was not finished when Mr. Lee came here with his family, and 
his first dwelUng place was an apartment temporarily fitted 
up in the end ofa blacksmith's shop, with stools for chairs and 
slabs for tables. And the poor Minister was often compelled 
to carry his bushel of wheat upon his back to Lamb's mill, for 

grinding ! 

Mr. Lee having accepted the call to settle here, he and 
Thomas Chipman, Esq. were requested by the town to fix 
upon the time of Ordination, and " agree upon the men to do 
the work." On the 23d day of November, 1744, Mr. Lee was 
ordained by a select ordaining council — the men agreed upon 
to do tlie ivork, at the log house which had been erected for his 
use. Why a select council was called to perform this service, 
instead of the Consociation, to which the town belonged, we 
are not informed. The proceeding was afterwards condemned 
as irregular, and as a departure from the Saybrook Canons ; 
and several of the council were censured for participating in 
the Ordination, without the advice of the Association.* No 
evil, however, resulted to the town from this procedure, nor 
was Mr. Lee at all implicated in its irregularity. The con- 
nection of Mr. Lee with this people was long and successful, 
and attended, perhaps, with as much harmony as was usual in 
those days of acquiescence in ecclesiastical measures. 

Mr. Lee continued to be the sole settled Minister here forty- 
four years. He died Oct. 8, 1788, and was interred in the 
old center burying yard. I never knew this gentleman, and 
can only speak of his character as a matter of reputation. 
I have ever understood he was a man of sagacity and respect- 
able intellectual powers, as well cultivated by science as was 
usual for the clergy of that day. He was a graduate of Yale 
College, of the class of 1742. The family of Mr. Lee was 
numerous, and some members of it in after life distinguished. 
His sole surviving son, Rev. Chauncey Lee, D. D. we rejoice 



* Trum. Ills. Con. 2 Vol. pp. 493, 518. 



27 

to meet and embrace on this occasion. Many of the de- 
scendants of our first Minister remain yet with us, sustaining 
highly respectable characters. 

It was not until the 23d day of April, 1746, that the town 
voted to build a meeting house. And the place first designated 
for this purpose was the elevated ground north of John C. 
CofRng's dwelling house. This location was opposed by the 
people at the north part of the town, and in May, 1747, a 
committee, consisting of Ebenezer Marsh, Joseph Bird, and 
Joseph Sanford, was appointed by the general court to desig- 
nate the place for the meeting house. The committee desig- 
nated two places ; one where the town had by its vote fixed 
it, and another a little north of Joseph Lee's dwelling house. 
Joseph Lee dwelt where William Bushnell now lives, nearly 
opposite this house. The General Court directed the house to 
be built near Mr. Lee's, and that the sills of it should enclose 
the stake placed by the committee, exactly in the center. Meas- 
ures were immediately taken to build the house ; the time of 
the raising was fixed, and the town voted, that Ensign Samuel 
Bellows should procure sixteen gallons of rum, and Sergeant 
Samuel Moore eight bushels of wheat, to be made into cake, 
for the raising. The meeting house was raised on the 24th 
and 25th days of March, 1749, on the spot where the Hotel 
now stands, opposite this house. The town had no title to 
the land on which they erected their meeting house ; but Mr. 
Robert Walker, of Stratford, one of the original proprietors 
of the town, by deed dated 29th May, 1750, gave to the town 
a small triangular piece of land, on the west side of the high- 
way, including the meeting house, for a burying yard. This 
piece of land extended from the south line of the old burying 
yard, northerly, along the highway, forming an acute angle on 
the highway, nearly opposite the present school house. This 
burying place has been since enlarged by purchases of land 
from Mr. Jeremiah Bushnell, on its western side. 

At the same time, Mr. Walker conveyed to the town, for a 



28 

parade, a piece of land on the east side of the highway, on 
which the Congregational meeting house now stands. It was 
bounded south, by the highway, then open, and running east- 
erly, through Stiles and College grants, to Lamb's iron works ; 
it was six rods in width, and extended north, from the afore- 
said road, twenty rods. The old meeting house continued to 
be used as such, fifty years only, and until the present Congre- 
gational meeting house was finished, in the year 1800. It was 
used for town and society meetings until the year 1813, when 
by lease dated the 19th day of January, 1813, the town con- 
veyed it to the late Simeon Granger, on condition that he and 
his assigns, should at all times furnish the town with a conven- 
ient room for town and society purposes, public libraries, &c. 
The lease included, also, the vacant lands derived from Mr. 
Walker, on the west side of the highway, which had not been 
before disposed of, nor included within the burying yard. A 
considerable portion of this was then used as a public high- 
way, extending westwardly, up the hill, and has never been 
discontinued as such, but still remains open and used as the 
only practicable way to the burying yard. 

In 1789, the parsonage committee was directed to apply to 
Mr. Chauncey Lee, son of the deceased minister, to preach 
here on probation. 

In November, 1790, a call was given to Rev. William F. 
Miller, and in 1791 a call was given to Rev. John EUiott, to 
settle here in the ministry ; but both invitations were declined. 
On the 2d of October, 1792, a call was unanimously given to 
Rev. James Glassbrook to become the minister of this people, 
under restrictions and conditions such as I suppose the ecclesi- 
astical authorities could not have approved. The call was 
accepted. It was a mere hiring for an unlimited time, with 
liberty to either town or minister, to dissolve the connection, 
upon a previous six months' notice. The assent of the Asso- 
ciation was neither asked nor given. Mr. Glassbrook was a 
Scotch gentleman of popular talents, but for some cause, not 



29 

now very well defined, his popularity waned fast, and before 
the expiration of his first years service, the town gave him 
notice to quit. Mr. Glassbrook did not long survive this event, 
but died at his residence, where Mr. Revilo Fuller now lives, 
on the 8th day of October, 1793. 

The Rev. Timothy Cooley was invited to settle here on the 
30th day of October, 1795, but refused. On the 27th day of 
March, 1797, Rev. Joseph Warren Grossman, of Taunton, 
Mass., accepted a call here, and was soon after ordained, and 
continued a successful ministry, until his death, on the 13th 
day of December, 1812. Mr. Grossman was a graduate of 
Brown University, R. I. Of this good man, we have not yet 
ceased to speak. He was a man of great excellence of char- 
acter. As a preacher, many excelled him ; as a pastor, he 
exhibited a model worthy of all imitation. Prudence was 
prominently displayed in all his intercourse with this people. 
The religion he preached was exemplified in himself. He 
loved his fellow men, not because they bore the same secta- 
rian name with himself, but because they were his fellow men. 
He was the minister of a denomination, but he was the friend 
of all. His piety was not spoiled by prejudice, and he could 
joyfully recognize a disciple of his Master, as well among the 
ministers, as the people of other denominations. 

The ecclesiastical concerns of the Gongregational parish, 
in conformity with the general usage of this Colony and State, 
had been managed by the town, previous to the year 1804, in 
which year a Gongregational Society, distinct from the town, 
was organized, and succeeded in all the property and interests 
which the town had managed in its ecclesiastical capacity. 

After the death of Mr. Grossman, no minister was settled 
here until the year 1818. In the meantime, several attempts 
were made to effect this purpose. 

From the first establishment of religious ordinances in this 
town, until the death of Mr., Grossman, there existed, perhaps, 
as much harmony in the ecclesiastical relations of the town, 



30 

as prevailed generally in New England parishes. Here and 
there, perhaps, a root of bitterness would and did spring up, 
but it soon drooped, and left no permanent evidence of its ex- 
istence behind. 

On the 5th day of April, 1813, the Society, by a divided 
vote, called Mr. John B. Whittlesey to become its minister. 
This was an occasion of much subsequent excitement. The 
friends of Mr. Whittlesey were numerous and respectable, 
and his opponents influential and determined. For a time, 
the permanent union of the Society seemed to be in danger. 
Mr. Whittlesey at first accepted the call ; the opposition to 
him continued and increased ; he doubted, then declined. His 
friends persisted, and again he accepted the call, but finally 
declined altogether. During this strife, much exasperated 
feeling was manifested. But new candidates begat new pre- 
ferences, so that harmony was again restored, and the Society, 
by a united vote, on the 26th day of July, 1815, invited the 
settlement of Mr. Chauncey A. Goodrich, now Professor in 
Yale College, but without success. Again another unsuccess- 
ful call was given, and on the 29th day of November, 1816, 
Mr. Fedral Burt, of Southampton, Mass., was solicited to be- 
come our minister. 

But in November, 1817, a call was given, under some op- 
position, to Mr. Lavius Hyde, of Franklin, which was ac- 
cepted, and Mr. Hyde was ordained on the 18th day of March, 
1818. Soon, however, increased opposition appeared, and the 
harmony of the Society was once more broken up. Councils 
were called for consultation and advice, and at length, after a 
faithful, but unhappy service of about four years, Mr. Hyde 
was dismissed from his charge. Some of us yet remain, who 
participated in the excitement produced by Mr. Hyde's minis- 
try and dismissal ; and as I was one, among many, who bore 
a testimony, somewhat active, in favor of that good man; so I 
rejoice, that, on this occasion, I have an opportunity to renew 
and perpetuate the evidence of my affection. 



31 

The Society remained destitute of a settled ministry, until 
Rev. Leonard E. Lathrop was installed, on the 2d day of 
February, 1825. Mr. Lathrop was a distinguished graduate 
of Middlebury College, Vt., and had been ordained as a Pres- 
byterian minister, and had been settled as the pastor of a 
Presbyterian parish in Wilmington, N. C. Few clergymen 
possess, to such an extent, the confidence of the entire com- 
munity, as did Mr. Lathrop the respect of all classes and de- 
nominations in the town. The regret at parting was deep 
and mutual. Mr. Lathrop, at his own solicitation, was dis- 
missed from his Society here, on the 25th of October, 1836, 
and was soon after settled in Auburn, N. Y. 

Rev. Adam Reid, a native of Scotland, was ordained as 
pastor of the Congregational Church and Society here, on the 
27th of September, 1837. 

Until the year 1824, public worship, in the Congregational 
Society, was supported by the taxation of its members. This 
system has been since abandoned, and the voluntary principle 
successfully adopted. Experience, both here and elsewhere, 
has fully proved that the clergy are better supported by a re- 
liance upon the affections of the people, than by a resort to 
legal coercion. Our laws, in all matters of a religious nature, 
effectually protect, but do not compel. The present number 
of communicants in the Congregational Church is about three 
hundred. 

This town, like most New England towns, was settled by 
the descendants of the Puritans, and of course the peculiarities 
of Puritan faith and practice were engrafted upon and into 
the habits, both of feeling and action, and gave character to 
the institutions of the town. But this was not universal. The 
earliest settlers were of Dutch descent, emigrants from the 
Province of New York, who were not entirely assimilated to 
their neighbors of New England origin. Some of these were 
inclined to Quakerism, and others, especially the Vandusen 
family, were partial to the institutions of the English Church. 



32 

At an early period in our history, several of our most respecta- 
ble families were found sincerely attached to the Church of 
England. Among these were the Landon's, the Chittenden's, the 
Chapman's, the Bissell's, the Selleck's, the Moore's, and some 
others. But as no ecclesiastical organization, in conformity 
with their views, could then be had, they supported the estab- 
hshed churcli here, and united in sustaining the institutions of 
religion, as approved by their Congregational brethren. Be- 
fore the war of the revolution, there were so many families 
belonging to the Church of England, in this town, that some 
efforts were made at organization, but nothing effective. 
There was a church edifice in Sharon, before the war, which 
was occasionally occupied by Missionaries of the Church of 
England, among whom was Rev. Mr. Davies ; to which the 
Salisbury Churchmen resorted, for the enjoyment of reU- 
gious ordinances and worship. But upon the commencement 
of the revolutionary struggle, these Missionaries were practi- 
cally silenced, and the church was converted into a prison 
house. It was common, then, to brand all Churchmen as To- 
ries — a charge untrue, and of course ungenerous. The 
Churchmen of that day were necessarily dependent upon Eng- 
lish charities, English sympathies, and English Episcopacy, for 
the protection and support of their religious privileges. It 
was but natural that they should hesitate longer than others, 
who had no such religious partialities, in engaging in a strug- 
gle by which every thing to them valuable in religion was put 
to hazard. But in very many, and prominent instances, here 
and elsewhere, the hatred of oppression, the paramount love 
of home and country, prevailed. In this town, Timothy Chit- 
tenden, Col. Blagden, Dr. Lemuel Wheeler, and others, were 
as active supporters of the war, as they were zealous friends 
of the Church. And so it was, to a considerable extent, 
throughout the whole country. And as a partial refutation of 
g, very general and stereotyped calumny upon the patriotism 
of the members of the Church of England in the United 



33 

States, it cannot be considered irrelevant to refer to George 
Washington, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, who have, 
with much propriety, been called the granite pillars of the rev- 
olution, as well as to Rufus King, Bishop White, and very 
many others. These men were Episcopalians. Were they 
Tories ? But this is digression. Not long after the close of 
the war, in 1783, the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Uni- 
ted States was organized ; and it was organized upon a sys- 
tem entirely independent of the English Church, and, in many 
of its most prominent features, essentially variant. Soon af- 
terwards, an Episcopal parish was organized here, but for 
many years was too feeble to erect a church edifice, although 
several attempts to do this were made. 

In 1792, several individuals contributed to the purchase of 
a piece of land for the scite of a church, of the late Robert 
Walker Lee, opposite the dwelling house of the late Dr. James 
R. Dodge. This land was conveyed to Mr. Luther HoUey, who 
was one of the contributors, in trust for the members of the 
Episcopal Church. The service of the Church was for some 
time regularly performed by Capt. Timothy Chittenden, and 
the late Samuel Moore acted as the Clerk of the parish. Oc- 
casional visits were received from the neighboring clergy, 
Rev. Messrs. Baldwin, Marsh, Burhans, Bostwick, and others. 
Bishop Seabury also visited the parish, and administered con- 
firmation. The places of meeting and worship were at the 
school house at Furnace Village, and at the dwelling house of 
Dr. Lemuel Wheeler. At a later time. Rev. Sturgess Gilbert 
and George B. Andrews frequently performed divine service 
for the Episcopalians in this town, and by the spirited exer- 
tions of the latter gentleman, seconded by the contributions of 
the friends of the Church, and generous assistance from some 
liberal individuals of other denominations, the present church 
building was erected in the year 1822. Rev. Stephen Beach 
was placed here, as the first Rector of the Salisbury Episco- 
pal Society, in 1823, and officiated here two thirds of the 
5 



34 

time, until 1832, when he resigned his charge, and removed to 
East Haddam. He was succeeded by Rev. Lucius W. Purdy, 
who officiated, alternately, in this town and Sharon, until the 
year 183G. The present Rector is Rev. David S. Devins, of 
Charlestown, Mass. The present number of communicants is 
about thirty. 

Before the war of the revolution, there were but few Meth- 
odists in this country, and I believe none in New England. 
The Methodist preachers, upon their arrival here, soon after 
the war, found tiieir earliest friends among the former adher- 
ents of the Church of England ; the doctrines of which Church 
they believed and taught. The founders of Methodism, Messrs. 
John and Charles Wesley, lived and died ministers of the Eng- 
lish Church. Upon the first appearance of the Methodists, the 
Churches of all denominations, both in England and the Uni- 
ted States, had relaxed much in energy and spiritual life. 
Whitefield, to be sure, like a meteor, brilliant, but evanescent, 
had passed through the country, and enkindled a warmer 
spirit in many places, and excited a religious curiosity. The 
public mind seemed to be waiting for some religious develop- 
ments, when Mr. Wesley's preachers arrived. They were 
not received with favor in New England ; their doctrines and 
practice were at entire variance with the staid notions of our 
Theology. As early as the year 1787, the first Methodist 
preacher, Mr. Talcott, preached in this town. He was soon 
followed by Messrs. Candle, Abbott, Freeborn Garretson, 
Peter Moriaty, Samuel Wigton, Samuel Bloodgood, and 
others, zealous ministers of the new sect. 

In this town, if the Methodist preachers were not received 
with general favor, they were not persecuted. In 1788, the 
town, by its vote, gave liberty to Mr. Garretson to preach in 
the meeting house, and Deacon Nathaniel Buell threw open 
his house, as a preaching house, for the Methodist ministers. 
School houses were most commonly improved as preaching 
places. This town was included in a circuit, extending from 
the Hudson river, as far east as Canaan in this county ; and 



35 

the preaching places were visited once in each fortnight, by 
the circuit preachers. The house of Mr. Eldridge, in the 
western part of the town ; the house of James Holmes, at 
the north, and of Nathaniel Church, in the eastern part of the 
town, for several years, were the most frequent preaching 
places. The first Presiding Elder, in this District, was Rev. 
Freeborn Garretson ; and the first quarterly meeting, or com- 
munion season, here, was holden in the barn of Thomas Bird, 
at the west part of the town. The first class organized under 
Mr. Wesley's system, which included any of the inhabitants 
of this town, was constituted at the dwelling house of William 
TrafTard, in Canaan, near the present Methodist meeting house 
in South Canaan, about the year 1788, at which time Mr. Eli- 
sha Horton and his wife, Rufus Landon and his wife, Aaron 
Mills and his wife, and my father, Nathaniel Church, inhabi- 
tants of this town, were admitted members of the Methodist 
Society. Of these, all have gone to their reward, except my 
venerable friend, now sitting near me, Mr. Rufus Landon. 

The Methodist meeting house in South Canaan was erected 
and partly finished, as early as 1793, I believe ; within a few 
years it has been finished in good taste. The meeting house 
at Furnace Village was built in 1816, and the chapel at Cha- 
pinville in 1832. For many years, this town was included 
within a circuit, but for some years recently, it has been made 
a station for a resident minister, who oiRciates at Furnace Vil- 
lage and Chapinville. Among the Methodist preachers of 
distinction, who have ofiiciated in this town, have been Rev. 
Samuel Merwin, Rev. Nathan Bangs, D. D., now President of 
the Wesleyan University, and Rev. Samuel Lucky, D. D. 
The number of communicants in the Methodist Church in this 
town, at the present time, is 126. 

I know not that any other organized body of Christians, 
than such as I have spoken of, has existed here. There have 
been a few Baptists and Universalists, but no Societies of 
either of these denominations. 

I have, as my means of knowledge permitted, given you 



36 

the history of our religious denominations. Of their spiritual 
condition I presume not to speak. The disclosures of eternity- 
can alone reveal it. 

In no particular, perhaps, has a greater change come over 
us, since the days of our fathers, than in the tone and fashion 
of religious action and feeling. Our first meeting house had 
neither bell, nor cushion, nor carpet ; but it contained sincere 
w^orshipers. At this day, when the course of the wind and 
the state of the clouds are so anxiously consulted on the Sab- 
bath morning, it is thought impossible for a congregation to 
remain through the time of religious worship, without the 
luxury of the cushion and the stove. Our fathers regarded 
these luxuries and comforts less than their descendants ; yet 
they resorted to such means as were within their power, to 
render the services of the Sabbath comfortable, as well as 
profitable. For this purpose, they erected several small build- 
ings near the meeting house, called by them, Sahba-day Houses. 
A few families, associating in winter, appropriated each one 
of these to their use, and furnished it with fuel, took care that 
.a cheerful fire should be found burning on their arrival at 
meeting, that all might be warmed before " meeting time" and 
to which they could resort at the intermission, to spend it in 
cheerful and pious intercourse. 

Religious revivals, as they are now understood, were hardly 
known in this town, before the arrival of the Methodist preach- 
ers ; and, when introduced by them, were regarded wiih jeal- 
ousy. And it was many years after the Methodists had be- 
come established in this vicinity, before they introduced camp 
meetings here. I believe the first camp meeting known in 
this region, was holden in Sharon, in the year 1806. The 
itching ears, the fastidious taste, the severe criticism, which 
unsettle so many valuable ministers in these days, and disturb 
so many congregations, were not so much in exercise formerly. 
There was more respect for the clerical office, and less for the 
" forma loquendi." 

A review of our ecclesiastical history, in more respects 



37 

than one, affords ground of satisfaction. A history of inter- 
mingUng sects has generally been little else than a history of 
unchristian contentions. In this town there has been as little 
display of this unhallowed spirit, as in any other community. 
I find that men of differing religious opinions, and denomina- 
tions in nearly equal proportions, have enjoyed the confidence 
of our citizens, as town officers, magistrates, and legislators. 
True, indeed, in Salisbury, as elsewhere, sectarian jealousy 
has found a place ; and it is no good apology to say, it has 
been the error of the age. As well may intemperance, or any 
sin, be excused as the error of the age. It is beheved, by 
many, that a brighter day seems to be breaking, and a brighter 
light shining, now. I hope these appearances are not decep- 
tive ; but I am not without my misgivings on this subject. It 
is certain, that as the genuine influence of the Christian reli- 
gion shall be more and more felt, a wider range will be given 
to the exercise of a religious charity, which shall include 
within its circle good men of all varieties and names. 

If there be any thing — any danger, against which, more 
than another, I would caution the youth of my native town, it 
is sectarian jealousy. This spirit has been, and to some ex- 
tent now is, a withering curse and blight upon all the endear- 
ments and charities of social life, wherever it has existed. A 
spirit opposed to the clearest principles and duties of the Chris- 
tian religion — the spirit of the hypocrite ! My young friends, 
I wish I could persuade you, that, should any of you hereaf- 
ter claim greater purity of life, or honesty of purpose, by rea- 
son of the sect or denoiriination to which you are attached, no 
intelligent man will give credit to your pretensions. 

Salisbury has given birth or education to several ministers 
of the gospel ; among whom have been James Hutchinson, 
Samuel Camp, Chauncey Lee, D. D., William L. Strong, 
Henry P. Strong, Horace HoUey, D. D., Isaac Bird, Jonathan 
Lee 3d, George A. Calhoun, Edward HoUister, Edwin Holmes, 
Josiah Turner, Joseph Pettee, Edmund Janes, Edwin Janes, 
and perhaps some others. 



38 

In New England, the Church and the School were equal 
objects of care ; and although our Salisbury ancestors pro- 
fessed, as their first object, a desire to be gathered into Church 
estate, yet this estate was understood by them to include the 
School, as a consequence. 

In 1743, and before the settlement of a minister, the town 
voted to procure a school-master for one year ; and directed a 
school to be kept under the superintendence of a committee, 
three months at Weatogue, four months near Cornelius Knick- 
erbacor's, at Furnace Village, and three months in the Hollow 
or Lime Rock. Robert Wain was probably the first school- 
master in the town, but his services were confined to the 
Dutch population at Weatogue. In December, 1743, the town 
ordered the building of two log school houses, — one at Wea- 
' togue, and one at Lime Rock. Dr. Wilson, or Williams, was 
the first school-master employed under the authority of the 
town. 

In January, 1745, five school squadrons, as they were then 
called, were established ; and the public school money was 
distributed to them, in proportion to the number of scholars 
in each. At that time, money for the support of the schools 
was raised by a general tax upon the inhabitants of the town, 
and also from the rents of the school lands. 

In 1743, Thomas Newcomb, Benajah Williams, Thomas 
Lamb, Benjamin White, and Samuel Bellows, were appointed 
a committee to lease the lands on the school right for nine 
hundred and ninety-nine years, taking security for the avails. 
The fund thus raised composes a part of the present school 
fund of the town. 

In 17G6, the number of scholars receiving instruction in the 
common schools was four hundred and eighty. Reading, 
writing, arithmetic, and the Assembly's catechism, constituted 
the full course of school instruction for many years. It is 
only within a period comparatively modern, that English 
grammar has found a place in the schools. 

Much complaint now exists against the state of our district 



39 

schools, and many remedies have been suggested for their im- 
provement, in our own times. The schools in this tov^^n have 
generally been well sustained, and always, where they have 
received the patronage and oversight of parents. 

Our schools, at times, if not generally, have sustained a high 
character. And when they have not, it has been when more 
exciting objects have engrossed the attention of our inhabitants. 
Although our public funds have been ample, yet money alone 
cannot sustain the cause of common school education. Well 
qualified instructors, a faithful visitation, and the constant 
watchfulness of parents, alone, can elevate and support the 
district schools, and render them, as they are intended to be, 
the chief nurseries of science among us. 

In the winter of 1804, the town was highly excited by a 
collision between the school visitors and the instructors, occa- 
sioned, as the instructors claimed, by an unwarrantable inter- 
ference with the religious opinions of some of them. Many 
of the school-masters were dismissed from their schools, and 
the school houses closed awhile. But harmony was restored 
again, and no evil abiding consequences resulted. 

The number of scholars between the ages of four and six- 
teen years, in the town last year, was seven hundred and eigh- 
ty-nine, and the average number for several years has been 
nearly the same. 

The public money appropriated for the use of the district 
schools last year was as follows, viz : 

Interest of the ancient school fund derived from 
the sale of school land, ..... $54.16 

Amount received from the school fund of the state, 1065.15 

Interest of the town deposit fund, derived from 
the deposit of the public money, under a law of 
United States, passed in 1836, .... 198.78 



$1318.09 

As connected with our public schools, and the subject of 



40 

education, I may advert to our libraries. Before the Revolu- 
tionary War, successful measures were adopted to establish a 
public library in the tow^n. Mr. Richard Smith, an English 
gentleman of respectability, was a proprietor of the Furnace, 
and felt a deep interest in the welfare of the town. Through 
his agency, and from funds raised by several public spirited 
individuals, a library, consisting of about two hundred volumes, 
was procured from London, and received the name of Smith 
Library. It was judiciously selected, and contained works of 
established excellence. For many years it flourished and 
increased ; but within a few years, and by reason of the flood 
of light and ephemeral books, with which the reading public 
for some time has been deluged, this library has become neg- 
lected, and many of its volumes dispersed and lost. 

In January, 1803, Mr. Caleb Bingham, of Boston, a native 
of this town, influenced by a generous regard for the youth 
here, presented a small library of one hundred and fifty vol- 
umes to the town, for the use of the young, and appointed a 
board of trustees for its management ; consisting of Rev. 
Joseph W. Grossman, Samuel Lee, Luther Holley, Asa Hutch- 
inson, Peter Farnam, Phineas Chapin, Timothy Chittenden, 
Elisha Sterling, Lot Norton, Jr., and Benajah Bingham ; all of 
whom, save two, are now dead.* These trustees had power 
to fill vacancies in their own board. At that time, when 
books, especially useful to youth, were comparatively scarce, 
this donation was of peculiar value, and gratefully received 
by the town. The library received the name of the " Bing- 
ham Library for Youth." It was a small beginning, but it 
infused into the youthful population a new impulse ; and a 
taste for reading before unknown was soon discoverable among 
the young. The books were sought for and read with avidity. 
The town, from time to time, by grants from its treasury, has 
contributed to its enlargement, and generous individuals too, 

* Asa Hutchinson and Lot Norton. 



41 

have made to it valuable additions. Among the benefactors 
of this cherished institution, have been the late Professor 
Averill, of Union College, and the late Dr. Caleb Ticknor, of 
New York — a nephcM^ of its founder — and both natives of this 
town, and w^ho, in common with many others, have acknowl- 
edged their obligations to this library for much of their success 
and distinction in after life. The generous and unwearied 
efforts of our respected friend, Mr. John Whittlesey, in aid 
of the Bingham Library for Youth, will be long remembered. 
The present number of well selected volumes is about five 
hundred. 

The influence of our common schools and our libraries upon 
the character of our citizens, has been very visible and sal- 
utary. A general taste for reading has been diffused among 
all classes. In 1810, there were received by subscribers 
through the Post Office in this town, only eighteen newspapers, 
weekly ; — now there are three hundred and sixty-six. These 
are political, religious, and literary. Besides these, many 
newspapers are distributed by the private post ; so that we 
have now probably, a newspaper circulation considerably 
exceeding the number of our electors. 

As nearly as I have been able to ascertain, the following 
persons have received Academical literary degrees from 
American Colleges, while inhabitants of this town, viz : Hon. 
Nathaniel Chipman, James Hutchinson, Samuel Camp, Jona- 
than Lee, 2d, Elisha Lee, Chauncey Lee, Gen. Peter B. Porter, 
Caleb Bingham, Thomas Fitch, William L. Strong, Myron 
Holley, Horace HoUey, Samuel Church, Thomas G. Water- 
man, Jonathan Lee, 3d, Orville L. Holley, Isaac Bird, Lot 
Norton, Jr., John M. Sterling, John M. Holley, Jr., EU Reed, 
Graham H. Chapin, George A. Calhoun, Chester Averill, Al- 
bert E. Church, Caleb Ticknor, Roger Averill, George B. 
Dutcher, Edward Hollister, Gurdon Spencer, Charles A. Lee, 
Edmund Reed, Churchill Coffing, Joseph Pettee, Amos B. 
Beach, Josiah Turner, William G. Sterling, Eliphalet Whit- 

6 



42 

tiesey, Jr., Charles Whittlesey, George Bartlett, Samuel P. 
Church, and Jonathan Edwards Lee. Of this catalogue, 
thirteen have been Lawyers, — twelve Clergymen, — five Phy- 
sicians, — four Instructors, — two Farmers. 

Our fathers had hardly become settled in Chufch estate, and 
had only begun to taste the fruits of their early and hardy 
enterprise, before the war, commonly called the French War, 
commenced. But little is now remembered of the part taken 
in that war by our inhabitants. Nathaniel Everts, 1st, was a 
lieutenant, and several men of this town enlisted into that ser- 
vice ; among whom were William Bradley, John Owen, Tim- 
othy Chittenden, Peter Mason, and several others. 

In the war of the Revolution this town w^as not inactive. 
Few towns in the state of only equal population, contributed 
more efficient means in the prosecution of that eventful 
struggle. An embarrassment severely felt at the commence- 
ment of the war, was the want of a cavalry force, Sheldon's 
regiment was the first body of cavalry of considerable effi- 
ciency which joined the army. That regiment was raised in 
this town and this vicinity. Col. Elisha Sheldon, Lieut. CoL 
Samuel Blagden, and Major Luther Stoddard, were attached 
to it. 

The services of Sheldon's regiment are frequently alluded 
to by writers of American history. In 1780, malicious char- 
ges were preferred against Col. Sheldon ; he was tried by a 
court martial, of which Col. Hazen was President, at Fishkill, 
on the 25th day of October, of that year. He was acquitted 
" with honor and full approbation," and his accuser, Dr. Da- 
rius Stoddard, of this town, severely censured. 

Before the commencement of the war, Mr. Richard Smith 
an English gentleman, of whom I have before spoken, had pur- 
chased the furnace at Furnace Village, and then the only irorf 
foundry, I believe, in this State. Upon the breaking out of the 
war, being a loyalist, he returned to England, and left his es- 
tate here, without an agent. It was not confiscated, but the 



43 

State took possession of it, and appointed the late Col. Joshua 
Porter their agent in its management. Here, on behalf of the 
country, large quantities of cannon, shot, and shells, were 
made, in aid of the Revolution, from the iron ore of the town ; 
and the orders of the Governor and Council, upon their agent, 
were frequent, for these necessaries of war. John Jay and 
Govei'neur Morris wei'e often here, as agents of Congress, 
superintending the casting and proof of the guns. The can- 
non were intended chiefly for the Navy ; and after the close 
of the war, the Navy, to a considerable extent, was supplied 
with guns from this town. The ship of Commodore Truxton, 
the Constellation, in her brilliant and desperate conflict with 
the French ships, Insurgent and Vengeance, was armed with 
Salisbury cannon ; as was the popular ship, the Constitution — 
" Old Iron Sides !" These guns were not of beautiful or fin- 
ished workmanship, but they were of the most test-worthy 
metaL 

We may say, boastingly, that our miines furnished the ma- 
terial, our streams the power, and our citizens the labor, by 
which much efficiency was given to the great cause of Ameri- 
can Independence ! 

The enthusiasm and excitement occasioned by the aggres- 
sive acts of the British Parhament, can hardly be appreciated 
by us of this generation. There was an electric spark com- 
municated to the extremes of the Colonies, producing a simul- 
taneous action every where. In this town, a meeting was 
called on the 22d day of August, 1774, to deliberate upon the 
threatened state of the Colonies. Spirited resolutions were 
adopted, accompanied by a preamble of the following tenor : 

" After reading and deliberating upon the several acts and 
laws, denouncing dangerous exertions of Parliamentary pow- 
er, as well as a partial, absurd, and self-confuted spirit of puni- 
tive malevolence, particularly leveled against the Province of 
the Massachusetts Bay ; and being deeply impressed with the 
visible declension of the virtue and rectitude of British ad- 
ministration, which threaten insupportable convulsions to the 



44 

whole empire ; and willing, as far as in us lies, to ward off 
the impending ruin, and revive the expiring liberties of the 
country : We resolve," &c. 

The resolutions which followed, denounced the acts of Par- 
Uament, especially the Boston port bill ; approved the pro- 
posed call of a general Congress ; and pledged the contribu- 
tions of the inhabitants, for the relief of their suffering breth- 
ren of Boston, " from their plentiful harvest ;" and concluded 
by appointing a committee to lake up subscriptions, consisting 
of Hezekiah Fitch, Esq., Capt. Elisha Sheldon, Luke Camp, 
Lot Norton, and Samuel Lane ; and also constituting Col. 
Joshua Porter, Hezekiah Fitch, Abial Camp, Dr. Lemuel 
Wheeler, and Josiah Stoddard, a Committee of Correspon- 
dence. 

On the 5th day of the succeeding December, the town ex- 
pressed its acquiescence in the then recent resolutions of the 
Congress, and appointed Col. Joshua Porter, Luke Camp, 
Lieut. Nathaniel Buell, Lot Norton, Dr. Samuel Lee, Capt. 
James Bird, John Camp, Samuel Lane, William Beebe, Heze- 
kiah Fitch, and Capt. Elisha Sheldon, a committee to carry 
them into effect. At the next meeting of the town, a Com- 
mittee of Inspection was appointed, and a committee of the 
same character was constituted annually, during the war. 
The duties of this committee were various ; such as to look 
well to disaffected persons, to approve of substitutes for draft- 
ed men, to inspect all provisions intended for the army, &c. 

The spirit of the people did not waste itself in resolutions, 
and the appointment of patriotic committees. What was ex- 
pressed was intended, and was carried out in calmer moments, 
by continual and efficient action. Every requisition of the 
General Assembly was complied with — men were raised — 
supplies were furnished on all occasions, when the emergency 
of the war demanded them, and to an extent much beyond 
the requisitions of the General Assembly. 

On the 7th day of April, 1777, Col. Nathaniel Buell, Lot 
Norton, Abial Camp, Daniel Bingham, and George Marsh, 



45 



were appointed a committee to encourage enlistments into the 
Continental Army, and to furnish the families of such as 
should enlist, with necessaries, during their absence. A simi- 
lar committee was annually appointed, while the war con- 
tinued. 

On the 6th day of January, 1778, the town, by resolution, 
approved the Articles of Confederation of the Thirteen United 
States, and instructed their Representatives in the General As- 
sembly to confer upon the Delegates from this State, in Con- 
gress, sufficient authority to ratify them. 

In the spring of 1780, the General Assembly ordered the 
raisins of five regiments for the Continental service ; and in 
June, of the same year, the town levied a tax of three-pence 
on the pound, to be paid to the non-commissioned officers and 
soldiers who should enlist into the regiments. In January 
following, the town voted to hire six men, to serve for one 
year, and appointed Luke Camp, Joshua Stanton, Timothy 
Chittenden, Nathaniel Buell, Lot Norton, and Capt. James 
Watrous, a committee for that purpose. 

In June, 1781, Gov. Trumbull issued his proclamation, of- 
fering a bounty to encourage enUstments. This town forth- 
with authorized a grant of three pounds to every non-com- 
missioned officer and private, who should enlist here, for every 
three months service, in addition to the offer made by the 
Governor ; and previously, in February, 1781, Col. Nathaniel 
Buell, and the late Samuel Lee, Esq., had been constituted a 
committee, to hire the enlistment of four men, for the defense 
of the western frontiers. And again, in February, 1782, six 
men, in addition, were raised, with an extra pay of twenty 
shillings each, per month, and a pair of shoes for each man, 
upon his marching to join the army. And on many subse- 
quent occasions, necessary supplies for destitute soldiers serv- 
ing in the Continental army, were raised here, and forwarded 
to the suffering troops. 

Yes, men, as well as money and supplies, were found here, 
ready to serve the country and the cause, both in the army 



46 

and at home. Many of our most prominent, wealthy, and 
influential citizens, joined the troops, either in the militia or 
Continental service ; and young men, sons of our best inhabi- 
tants, sought no exemption, but left cheerfully the endear- 
ments of home, in exchange for the privations of the camp 
and the dangers of the battle-field. 

Among the officers w^ere Colonels Elisha Sheldon, Samuel 
Blagden, Joshua Porter, and Nathaniel Buell, — Majors Luther 
Stoddard and John Chipman, — Captains Roger Moore, James 
Claghorne, James Holmes, Joshua Stanton, Nathaniel Everts, 
Timothy Chittenden, James Watrous, Jesse Sawyer, Samuel 
Lane, and Ebenezer Fletcher, — and Lieutenants Nathaniel 
Chipman, Richard Bignall, Adonijah Strong, Daniel Brins- 
maid, and James Skinner. 

The names of more than one hundred non-commissioned 
officers and privates, inhabitants of this town, who served in 
the Revolutionary Army, are now recollected, and will be 
perpetuated by being lodged in the Town Clerk's Office. 

Of the officers, but one now survives, — Hon. Nathaniel 
Chipman, of Vermont. And I have not been informed that 
more than three or four of the non-commissioned officers and 
privates are now alive. All who are known to me as sur- 
viving, are Rufus Landon, Hugh Montgomery, and David 
Beebe. 

Messrs. John Russell, Joseph Hollister, and Archibald Camp- 
bell, now and for many years our inhabitants, enlisted and 
served, before they became residents of this town. Mr. Rus- 
sell was a Sergeant of Artillery, in the New York line of the 
army, and was for some time attached to the military family 
of the Commander-in-Chief Mr. Hollister was a Sergeant 
from Glastonbury, and commanded a guard upon the Hudson 
river, attached to General Putnam's command, which captured 
a British agent, supposed to be a messenger with despatches 
from General Burgoyne to General Clinton.* 

* Dwigbl's His. Cod. 37G. 



47 

It i§ not to be denied, that among our inhabitants were some, 
who doubted the propriety of opposition to the demands of 
the mother country, and who behoved themselves restrained 
by their oaths of allegiance from taking part in the contest ; 
or who considered armed opposition as premature and hope- 
less. But none here, gave aid to the enemy, nor did any oppose 
the efforts of the Whio-s. 

At length, in 1783, the battle ceased, — the victory was 
achieved, and the war-worn soldier returned to his home. 
The gratitude of the people was expressed in rejoicings and 
thanksgivings. On the 6th day of May, 1783, our town ap- 
propriated thirty pounds of powder " to congratulate the Con- 
tinental soldiers belonging to this town upon their return and 
discharge." A day of rejoicing was set apart, and Colonel 
Nathaniel Buell was appointed " to address the returned Con- 
tinentals, and present them with the thanks of the town, for 
their generous and spirited exertions in the cause of their 
country." Worthies, where are they now ! Here and there 
a trembling memorial remains of this band of patriots ; and 
but one is here in this great assemblage !*' Brave men, what 
shall I say of you? The blessing of Providence upon your 
efforts, and the efforts of your associates, has brought to your 
country a glory envied by the world. Even crowned heads 
are compelled to walk circumspectly before your example ! 
To you, we owe, and our children will forever owe, a debt 
which money and pensions can never pay ! We renew to 
you, who survive, the thanks which our fathers expressed to 
you fifty-eight years ago ! Farewell, go join your comrades 
in a happy, holier country than any your arms have defended, 
and reap rewards richer than any your country can bestow ! 

But it is not to the soldier, alone, that our debt of gratitude 
is due. The privations and burthens of the war were uni- 
versal. The action of this town during the contest and at its 

* Mr. Rufus Landon, aged 82 years. 



48 

termination, as you have seen, displayed a moral and political 
temperament, which demagogues of this day should blush 
deep, to review. 

In May, 1783, the people, in town meeting, gave what they 
called instructions to their Representatives in the General As- 
sembly. They declared it " to be their indispensable duty to 
use their influence, and make the most reasonable efforts, for 
the security both of their interests and rights, and early to 
have a stop put to injustice and oppression." They say, more- 
over, that " we are sensible, when you come to act in your 
public characters, you will be under the obligation and so- 
lemnity of an oath, and we mean not to desire or request any 
thing that shall infringe on your conscience or judgment." — 
The true relation between the representative and the constit- 
uent, is here expressed. 

The town proceeded to recommend the following particu- 
lars : 

1. That our public accounts may be settled, so that a rea- 
sonable account may be rendered of the expenditure of such 
vast sums of money, as have been granted and collected in 
this State, since the commencement of the late war. 

2. That effectual care be taken to prevent such persons as 
have been known to be inimical to these States, from being 
admitted to be free citizens of this State ! 

3. That the recommendation of Congress respecting pay to 
the officers of the army, for a number of years after the war, 
be wholly rejected, as unjust and oppressive upon the people. 

4. That a suitable address be made to Congress, to suppress, 
prevent, and remove, such place-men as hold trifling offices, 
with large and unreasonable salaries, which must ultimately 
be drawn from the people. 

These instructions were addressed to Hezekiah Fitch and 
Elisha Fitch, Esquires, who were at that time our Represen- 
tatives in the General Assembly. They breathe the true spirit. 
They recognize no submission to cliques or caucusses, — the 



49 

tyrants of the present da;y ; and they dare to rebuke even the 
Congress itself. 

EHsha Fitch, Esq. for many years had been a distinguished 
and popular man, and frequently represented the town in the 
General Assembly. In the spring session of 1787, he made a 
very active opposition to the proposed call of a Convention 
to revise the Articles of Confederation. This opposition de- 
stroyed his popularity, and extinguished him as a public man. 
The Articles of Confederation were revised, and the present 
Constitution of the United States was recommended to the 
people of the respective States, for adoption. The Convention 
of this State assembled to deliberate upon the Constitution at 
Hartford, in January, 1788. The Delegates who represented 
this town in that Convention, were Hezekiah Fitch and Joshua 
Porter, Esquires, both of whom voted for the adoption of the 
Constitution. 

The revolutionary struggle had imposed impoverishing bur- 
dens upon the country. The times, in prospect, were gloomy, 
and the hearts of many were desponding. An immense debt 
had been contracted — commerce annihilated — the currency 
depreciated — the public faith distrusted. In this state of af- 
fairs, a town meeting was called on the 11th day of March, 
1785, by which it was resolved, "That we will continue to 
maintain harmony, good order, and unanimity, among our- 
selves, as well as the good and wholesome laws of society." 
A resolution like this, carried out to practical effect, would 
conquer difficulties not physically insurmountable ; and nothing 
less than this will relieve us now, from the evils of which we 
at present complain ; and, were it in order, I would propose 
the same resolution for adoption in this meeting. 

I have remarked before, that a green and a market-place 
were reserved on Town Hill, in laying out the first division 
lots. That reservation was never appropriated to its original 
destination ; but, in 1785, the General Assembly established a 
public market upon the meeting house green, which had been 



50 

originally designed for a parade. The Selectmen were em- 
powered to make by-laws and regulations for the market, and 
to define its limits. Twice in each year, it was made lawful 
for all merchants, handicraftsmen, dealers, and others, to re- 
sort to the market with their vendible commodities. Such 
fairs were then common in this State, but were unlawful with- 
out legislative license. They furnished days of festivity, and 
were of a demoralizing tendency. Horse-jockeying and horse- 
racing prevailed, and perhaps some of the propensities to 
yankee trading were acquired in schools like these. 

There was no Post Office in this town before the year 1792, 
when Mr. Peter Farnam, at the Furnace Village, was ap- 
pointed Postmaster. Now, we have six Post Offices within 
the limits of the town. 

Before the war, emigration from this town to Vermont had 
commenced, and soon after its close, it was renewed ; so that 
but few years had elapsed before there was hardly a family 
connection in the town, which had not been ruptured by emi- 
gration. Removals to the western part of the State of New 
York next followed ; and soon there was scarcely a village or 
settlement in that region, which did not contain a Salisbury 
man. The Chipman's, Owen's, Bingham's, Camp's, Chapin's, 
Everest's, Sheldon's, White's, Allen's, Skinner's, Claghorn's, 
Porter's, Stoddard's, Bronson's, Hanchett's, and others, of our 
ancient and prominent families, were much dismembered, and 
some entirely disappeared, by early emigration. 

The State of Vermont owes something to the men of Salis- 
bury, for its present position among the States of this Union. 
As early as 1761, John Everts, the same gentleman who was 
our first Representative to the General Court of this Colony, 
procured from Governor Wentwort, of New Hampshire, the 
charters or grants of the towns of Middlebury, New Haven, 
and Salisbury, in the former State. The first proprietors of 
Middlebury were almost all of them inhabitants of this town; 
and these proprietors held their first meeting at the house of 



51 

Landlord Everts, in Salisbury, and elected Matthias Kelsey, 
Ebenezer Hanchett, and James Nichols, to be the first Select- 
men of Middlebury ! 

Some of the most energetic and resolute of the Green Moun- 
tain Boys, emigrated from this town ; and among these hoys 
were Thomas Chittenden, Ethan Allen, Ira Allen, and Jonas 
Galusha. Thomas Chittenden was Governor of Vermont, 
with the exception of one year, from 1778 to 1797. In the 
early disputes between the Province or State of New York 
and the settlers of the New Hampshire Grants, no man was 
more active than Ethan Allen. He defied the admonitions and 
the threats of the Governor of New York, contained in a 
proclamation addressed to the settlers, and says, in a mani- 
festo signed by himself and others, on the 5th day of April, 
1774, " We flatter ourselves we can muster as good a regi- 
ment of marksmen and scalpers as America can afford, and 
we give the gentlemen (of New York) an invitation to come 
and view the dexterity of our regiment," &c. Ira Allen was, 
for many years, the Treasurer, and Jonas Galusha the Gov- 
ernor, of Vermont. 

The history of the Western Reserve, in Ohio, is familiar to 
us. That tract of country was surveyed into townships by 
Augustus Porter, son of our distinguished townsman, Colonel 
Joshua Porter, assisted by other gentlemen ; among whom 
was our late excellent and much lamented friend, John M. 
Holley, Esq. Among the original purchasers and proprietors 
of the towns of Canfield and Johnston, in Trumbull county, 
Ohio, and some other towns in that Reserve, were James John- 
ston, Daniel Johnston, Nathaniel Church, David Waterman, 
and Timothy Chittenden, of this town. Many of the earliest 
settlers of the town of Canfield, were our inhabitants, viz : — 
Champion Minard, James Doud, Aaron Collar, William Chap- 
man, Ziba Loveland, Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, Ensign Church, 
and some others. 

There has been a manufacturing interest in Salisbury, from 



52 

the beginning ; and yet we have been, pre-eminently, an ag- 
ricultural people. There have been but few places in which 
the agricultural facilities have been more diversified than this, 
although the committee which first explored our territory, had 
some doubts whether it could sustain a sufficient population to 
support a minister ! For many years, wheat was a staple pro- 
duction ; of late, the culture of this grain is much diminished. 
The influx of flour from other regions, is the cause. The cul- 
tivation of flax has been relinquished. Our farmers formerly 
found their markets either with the merchants in town, or up- 
on the Hudson river. The town market, except so far as it is 
sustained by the manufacturers, is now at an end, and our 
grain finds no market on the North river ; and yet our agri- 
cultural prosperity has been well sustained. This town, in 
common with other places, has suffered by a fashionable aver- 
sion to agricultural pursuits, which, for some years, has been 
very perceptible. The experience of the few last years, how- 
ever, has taught our farmers some salutary lessons, and led 
them to appreciate more correctly the superior advantages and 
independence of their condition. Few towns can boast of a 
more intelligent agricultural population than ours. 

Formerly, there were not more than three well established 
mercantile concerns in the town — Holley's, at the Furnace — 
Moore's, at the Center — and Chapin's, at Camp's Forge. Now, 
we have no less than thirteen dry goods stores ! How they 
are sustained, if sustained at all, I am not informed. Not 
more than three of this number are engaged in the sale of ar- 
dent spirits ! 

The iron ore, the forests, and the frequent water power 
found here, at a very early period introduced the manufacture 
of iron, and we have had but few other manufactories. The 
first forge was erected by Thomas Lamb, in the Hollow, as 
it was formerly called, now called Lime Rock, before the 
charter of the town, and I believe before its sale at Hartford, 
in 1738. Lamb's Iron Works are referred to as existing in the 



53 

earliest conveyances. They were probably erected as early 
as 1734. Soon afterwards, a grist mill and saw mill were 
built just below, upon the same fall of water, by Lamb and 
others. The Lime Rock forge and furnace of Messrs. Can- 
field & Robbins, now occupy the sites of these ancient works. 
Iron ore was first taken from the Hendricks ore bed, now 
called the Davis ore bed, to supply Lamb's iron works. Lamb 
was a proprietor of that ore bed. These works have subse- 
quently been occupied by Thomas Starr, Martin Hoffman, 
Joel Harvey, Thomas Chipman, Jun., Ebenezer Hanchett, 
Thomas Austin, and James Johnston ; and, for many years, 
were known only as Johnston's forge. 

Capt. Samuel Beebe built a grist mill at the upper or Little 
Falls of the Housatonuc, where Ames' iron works now are, 
as early as 1742. It was not many years in operation. A 
grist miill was built by John Corbit, in the southwestern sec- 
tion of the town, where Benedict's mill now is, in 1746. 

Ja.cob Bacon and Daniel Parke, in 1748, built a grist mill 
and forge upon Succunops brook — the outlet of the pond in 
Chapinville. Deacon Hezekiah Camp became its proprietor 
in 1759, and the forge retained the name of Camp's forge, for 
several years. The works at that place were afterwards 
owned by the late Phineas Chapin, Esq., a descendant of Dea- 
con Camp. The furnace now in operation upon the site of 
the old forge, was erected by Sterling, Chapin, & Co., in the 
year 1825 ; and the neighborhood there then received the name 
of Chapinville. 

Thomas Lamb, who owned the outlet of the Furnace Pond, 
conveyed it in 1748, to Benajah Williams, Josiah Stoddard, 
and William Spencer. These persons soon after built a forge, 
near where the remains of the old furnace now are. After- 
wards, Moorhouse, Caleb Smith, John Dean, John Pell, 

Gideon Skinner, Joseph Jones, Eliphalet Owen, John Cobb, 
and Leonard Owen, were at different periods its proprietors. 
It was called Owen's Iron Works. In 1762, Leonard Owen 



54 

conveyed this property to John Haseltine, Samuel Forbes, and 
Ethan Allen. These gentlemen erected the first blast furnace 
ever built in this State, as I suppose. Charles and George 
Caldw^ell, of Hartford, purchased this property in 1763, and 
they conveyed it to Richard Smith, of Boston, in 1768. Jo- 
seph Whiting, William Neilson, Luther Holley, and Holley 
&L Coffing, have since been its proprietors. 

Thomas Lamb was proprietor of the water privilege on the 
mountain, since called Riga, and had control of the stream 
flowing therefrom. Very early he erected a saw mill and 
grist mill on that stream, about one half mile northwest of the 
Center Village, at or near the falls upon which Clark's mills 
now stand, — as early, I think, as 1744. This property was 
soon afterwards owned by Joel Harvey and Joseph Parke, 
and from them has been transmitted through various proprie- 
tors to the present owners. 

Nathaniel Jewell, in 1753, built a grist mill on the northern 
line of the town, near Sage's present works. 

No business was done at the great falls of the Housatonuc, 
before the erection of the paper mill, in 1783. That manufac- 
tory was established by the late Samuel Forbes, Esq. and 
Nathaniel Church, and for several years was an active and 
prosperous concern. Paper was then made exclusively of 
linen rags, and by the slow process of the hand mould. A 
saw mill and fulling mill were erected there about the same 
time. An extensive lumber business was prosecuted. Pine 
timber in large quantities, and of excellent quahty, was by the 
spring freshets annually drifted down the river from the towns 
above. 

About the year 1797, Charles Loveland erected an extensive 
manufactory of gun barrels there. The entii'e works, except 
the saw mill, were destroyed by fire in February, 1800, and 
never rebuilt. For several years thereafter, no active busi- 
ness was done in that neighborhood. 

Abner or Peter Woodin erected a forge at Mt. Riga, about 



55 

the year 1781. Daniel Ball succeeded ; and the forge was 
many years known as Ball's forge. Seth King and John Kel- 
sey commenced building a furnace there, about 1806, but were 
not able to complete it. The entire property in the forge and 
furnace came into the hands of Coffing, Holley, & Pettee, 
in the year 1810, who, the same year, finished the furnace, and 
for many years prosecuted a very extensive and profitable 
business. Pig iron, anchors, screws, and various kinds of 
manufactured iron, were made there. This establishment, in- 
cluding the works at Lime Rock, were incorporated in 1828, 
by the name of the Salisbury Iron Company. 

The furnace near the Falls Bridge, was built by Leman 
Bradley, in 1812. It was burnt in 1814, and immediately re- 
built. The refining forge there was built by Canfield, Sterling, 
&D Co. in and the neighborhood, about that time, received 

the name of Falls Village. The iron works there and at Lime 
Rock, are now the property of Messrs. Canfield & Bobbins. 

The iron works at the upper or little falls of the Housatonuc, 
were bi!iilt in 1833, by Eddy, Ames, & Kinsley, but have since 
that tim.e been much extended by Mr. Ohver Ames, their present 
proprietor. 

Within the last thirty years, our manufactories have been 
confined chiefly to iron, in its several varieties, from the raw 
material to the finished article. Our mines have yielded an 
ore superior to any other yet found in this country, for all pur- 
poses requiring great strength. I have alluded before to the 
cannon made here in former years. Iron for the manufacture 
of muskets, anchors, chain cables, &c. is made here of a 
superior quality, and has engaged the attention of the national 
government. We have now four blast furnaces in operation, 
and five refining forges. 

The daily consumption of charcoal in one of our furnaces, 
is about six hundred bushels. And the average yield of pig 
iron, is about three tons per day. 

A refining forge will consume about three hundred bushels 



56 

of charcoal at each fire, per week. Our forges generally run 
with three fires each. 

In connection with the iron business of the town, it may be 
in place here to speak of our mineral resources. 

The ore bed in the west part of the town, called by way of 
distinction, The Old Ore Hill, is a tract of one hundred acres, 
originally granted by the General Court, in Oct., 1731, to be laid 
out by Daniel Bissell, of Windsor. It was soon after surveyed 
and located by Ezekiel Ashley and John Pell. The descendants 
of Ashley are at this day proprietors in that ore bed. From 
this mine the most abundant supplies of ore have been fur- 
nished. For many years the mineral was easily obtained and 
with little excavation. At this time it is much more expensive- 
ly raised. For the last twenty years, the average quantity of 
ore raised from the old ore bed, has been about four thousand 
and five hundred tons, annually. The price when raised is 
now $2.50 per ton, of which the proprietors receive $1.25, 
and the miners the balance. 

The proprietors were incorporated many years ago. The 
present proprietors are the heirs of the late Gen. Henry Liv- 
ingston, of Livingston's Manor, New York, the heirs of the 
late Samuel Forbes, Esq., of Canaan, and William Ashley, 
Esq., of Sheffield, Mass. 

The Chatfield Ore Bed, so called from its original proprietor, 
PhiUp Chatfield, lies in the vicinity of the old ore bed. For- 
merly it was considerably worked, but within a few years 
very little ore has been taken from it. It is owned by the 
heirs of the late Samuel Forbes, Esq. 

Hendrick's Ore Bed, now called the Davis Hill, was at a 
very early period owned by Thomas Lamb, the Salh>hufy 
speculator, and ore was taken from it to supply his forge, at 
Lime Rock. At this time it is worked to a considerable ex- 
tent. This ore bed is situated about a mile southwest of the 
Center Village, and is owned by the heirs of the late Samuel 
Forbes, Esq., the heirs of the late Jared Canfield, and by the 



57 

late firm of HoUey & Coffing. The Bingham Ore Bed, since 
called the Scoville Ore Bed, lies about three miles northwest 
of the .Center Village ; it has not been improved for many 
years. Still further north is Camp's, or Chapin's Ore Bed. 
This ore is found in considerable quantities, but is so impreg- 
nated with manganese, as to be little used. In the extreme 
southwest corner of the town is the Bradley Ore Bed. On 
the Sharon side of the town line, ore in considerable quan- 
tities is taken from this mine. The ore from our mines yields 
from forty to forty-five per cent, of iron. The ore is of the 
brown Hematite variety. 

Copperas, or sulphate of iron, has been found on Barack- 
matiff Hill, and at a place called Samuel Moore's mine, on 
Sugar Hill. 

For many years Salisbury had the reputation of affording a 
successful field for gentlemen of the legal profession. This 
was not the result of a litigious spirit in the people, nor of any 
unusual propensity of the lawyers ; but rather, of the active 
and business-like enterprise of the population. The first law- 
yer who settled here was Jabez Swift, Esq., a native of Kent. 
He built the stone house on Town Hill. Upon the breaking 
out of the War of the Revolution he joined the army in Bos- 
ton, and there died. The late Adonijah Strong, Esq., was a 
pupil of Mr. Swift, and succeeded him in practice. Colonel 
Strong was a man of vigorous mind, had a large practice, but 
possessed none of the graces of eloquence. For many years 
he was an efficient magistrate, and a member of the General 
Assembly. He died in February, 1813. 

Joseph Canfield, Esq. commenced his professional studies 
with Colonel Strong, and finished them at the Litchfield Law 
School. He commenced his practice at Furnace Village, about 
the year 1789. Mr. Canfield was a gentleman of graceful 
manners and good talents ; he died in September, 1803, having 
been several times a member of the Assembly. 

Gen. Elisha Sterling was a graduate of Yale College, and a 



58 

member of the Law School, at Litchfield. He commenced his 
professional life in this town, in 1791 ; and he prosecuted his 
profession with great industry and success, until the year 1830 : 
when he retired to his farm at Furnace Village, where he died 
Dec. 3d, 1836. General Sterling was a well-read lawyer, and 
possessed a discriminating mind. Twice he represented the 
seventeenth Senatorial district in the Senate of this State ; 
and for several years represented this town in the General 
Assembly. He was many years a magistrate, nine years a 
Judge of Probate for the district of Sharon, and for a con- 
siderable period State's Attorney for this county. The name 
of no other citizen appears more frequently upon our town 
and society records than his. 

Hon. Martin Strong was the eldest son of Col. Adonijah 
Strong. He commenced the practice of law here in 1801. 
Several years before his death, he exchanged the legal pro- 
fession for agricultural pursuits. Judge Strong was for many 
years one of our most active magistrates, and an Associate 
Judge of the County Court. He had been a member of both 
branches of our Legislature. Besides the gentlemen now in 
practice here,* there have been several lawyers who com- 
menced business in this town, and subsequently removed to 
other places ; among whom were Chauncey Lee, Myron Hol- 
ley, Hon. Ansel Sterling, Ezra Jewell, John M. Sterling, Ed- 
ward Rockwell, Churchill Coffing, and Norton J. Buell. 

In the department of medicine, we have retained the ser- 
vices of many valuable men, from the beginning. Our first 
physician was Dr. Solomon Williams, who, as I suppose, emi- 
grated from Lebanon, as did many other of our most conspic- 
uous men. He died in the year 1757, and in the same year 
was succeeded by Dr. Joshua Porter, from the same place. 
Dr. Porter graduated at Yale College, in 1754. His place of 
residence was at Furnace Village, on the farm originally occu- 

* These are Philander Wlieeier, Joba G. Mitchell, John H. Hubbard, and Roger 
Avciill, Esqukes. 



59 

pied by Cornelius Knickerbacor. For half a century his pro- 
fessional practice was very extensive, and he was esteemed as 
one of the most skillful physicians of his day. But his pro- 
fession did not engross his whole attention. He was much in 
public life, both civil and military. For twenty years he was 
a Selectman ; a Justice of the Peace thirty-five years ; an 
Associate Judge of the County Court thirteen years ; Chief 
Justice of the same Court sixteen years ; Judge of Probate for 
the district of Sharon thirty-seven years. In the year 1764, 
he was first elected a member of the Assembly, and was a 
member of that body fifty-one stated sessions ! 

Col. Porter was not attached to the Continental Army in the 
Revolutionary War, but was an efficient Militia Officer. As 
a Colonel of Militia, he was in service with his Regiment, at 
Peekskill, and again at Saratoga, at the capture of Burgoyne. 
The descendants of Col. Porter were, and are still numerous, 
and many of them not only highly respectable, but distin- 
guished. This venerable and much esteemed gentleman died 
on the 2d day of April, 1825, aged ninety-five years. 

Dr. Lemuel Wheeler commenced practice here about the 
year 1765. He too, was a public man, and several times a 
member of the General Assembly. 

Dr. Samuel Cowdray settled near Chapinville, or Camp's 
forge : subsequently, he was attached to the navy of the United 
States. He was a surgeon on board of the unfortunate frigate 
Philadelphia, when that vessel was captured by the Barbary 
pirates, and he was a long time detained as a slave, in Tripoli, 
and until reclaimed by his government. 

Our other physicians, besides the medical gentlemen now in 
practice,* have been Drs. Jonathan Fitch, Darius Stoddard, 
John Johnston, William Wheeler, Samuel Lee, William Wal- 
ton, the elder, William Walton, 2d, John P. Walton, Samuel 

* These are Asahel Humphrey, Henry Fish, Luther Ticknor, Ovid Plumb, and 
/ William J. Barry. 



60 

Rockwell, Joshua Porter, Jr., James R. Dodge, Abiram Peet, 
Benajah Ticknor, now of the United States Navy, Perry 
Pratt, John J. Catlin, Caleb Tickor, and Moses A. Lee. 

The geographical features of the town, truly indicate a 
healthful climate. For the last twenty years, the annual average 
number of deaths has been from thirty to thirty-five, or about 
one and a half per cent, of our population. Yet, in common 
with most other healthful localities, we have been occasionally 
visited with fatal pestilence. About the year 1784, a fever of 
uncommon mortality raged in the north part of the town, and 
in the vicinity of the ponds ; called then the pond fever, and 
supposed to have been produced by the unusual accumulation 
of water in the ponds. Many names, before frequent and 
pi'ominent upon our civil and ecclesiastical records, ceased 
thereafter to be any more seen. Again, in the years 1812 and 
1813, a fever, called from its general prevalence, The jEpidemic, 
swept over this and some neighboring towns, with fearful mor- 
tality, uncontrolled by medical skill. During the first of these 
.years there were about eighty deaths, and in the latter, nearly 
seventy, and chiefly from that disease. Indeed, all other 
maladies seem to have fled before it, and to have given place, 
that it might rage and conquer alone. It was the Pneumonia 
Typhoides of the Books, or a Typhoid Pleurisy. 

In connection with the professional gentlemen who have been 
our inhabitants, I ought not to omit the name of the late Sam- 
uel Moore. He was the first of our inhabitants who practiced 
the science of land surveying, and was the eldest son of the 
first emigrant here, of that name — Sergeant Samuel Moore. 
He was a distinguished mathematician of his time, and was 
the author of a valuable and extensively circulated treatise 
upon surveying, which I believe was the first American work 
on that branch of mathematical science. He died in the year 
1810, aged seventy-three years. Other gentlemen, who have 
exercised the same profession in this town, have been Stephen 
Reed, Daniel Reed, and WiUiam P. Russell. 



61 

I have spoken, especially, of professional men ; — this has 
not been done invidiously. No man respects the mechanic 
and agriculturist more highly than I do ; but my leisure will 
not permit me to speak of them individually, on this occasion, 
as many of them deserve. But there have been those among 
us, who were self-made men, in the various occupations of 
life. They deserve a place in our memories and esteem. By 
self-made men, I mean such as, by patient endurance, have 
overcome the adverse and depressing influences of native 
penury, and, by lives of industry and integrity, have advanced 
themselves and their families to competence and respecta- 
bility. Among these were Adonijah Strong, Timothy Chit- 
tenden, Peter Farnam, Jonathan Scoville, Thomas Ball, Na- 
thaniel Church, Gideon Bushnell, and Luther Holley. I could 
name many others. To Mr. Holley I refer as an example 
well worthy of more general imitation. He commenced his 
trial of life, with no other estate than his axe, wqth which he 
was seeking employment in the colleries of Cornwall, when 
he was, fortunately as we suppose, diverted from his purpose, 
by the persuasion of the late Lot Norton, Esq. I cannot speak 
of Mr. Holley's progress from poverty and obscurity to wealth 
and prominence. He was a working man through life ; but 
he was no slave. He was a choice pattern of a New England 
farmer. Industry combined with leisure — the labor of the 
body associated with the labor of the mind. Luther Holley's 
life was a visible refutation of the too common opinion, that 
the necessary toil of the laboring man, in this country, is in- 
consistent with an independent spirit, and high mental culti- 
vation. You perceive, I speak here only of the dead. Were 
this a proper occasion, I should love to allude to the living 
also. 

It is a just occasion of pride, in any community, that it has 
sent forth from its numbers, to other regions, men of eminence 
and usefulness ; and perhaps this town, retired and obscure as 
it is, has furnished other sections of our confederacy its full 



62 

proportion of distinguished men. Hon. Thomas Chittenden, 
though a native of Guilford, was, for many years, one of our 
own men, and represented this town, many times, in the Gen- 
eral Assembly. He emigrated from us to Vermont, befoi^e the 
War of the Revolution, and was Governor of that State for 
many years. He built and resided in the brick house lately 
owned by the Brewster family. His son, Hon. Martin Chit- 
tenden, also Governor of Vermont, and a member of Con- 
gress from that State, was born here. 

Col. Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, resided in this 
town some years before his emigration to Vermont, and was 
one of the original proprietors of the old furnace. 

Hon. Jonas Galusha was one of our citizens. He was the 
son of Jacob Galusha, who removed from Norwich to this 
town, in 1771, and settled on the north side of the north pond. 
Jonas Galusha, for several years, was a very popular Gov- 
ernor of Vermont. 

Hon. Nathaniel Chipman, late Chief Justice of the State of 
Vermont, and a distinguished member of the Senate of the 
United States, was born and educated here. He was the son 
of Samuel Chipman, who formerly occupied the dwelling 
house and farm on Town Hill, now owned by Mr. Reuben 
Chapman. This venerable and distinguished gentleman, as 
we hope, still survives, at the age of eighty-nine years. 

Hon. Daniel Chipman, youngest brother of Judge Chipman, 
and for many years one of the most prominent members of the 
Vermont Bar, also a native of this town, still lives, at the age 
of seventy-six. 

Hon. Ambrose Spencer, late Chief Justice of the State of 
New York, was born here on the 13th December, 1765. He 
was the son of Philip Spencer, Esq., whose place of residence 
was near the western extremity of the town. The character 
of Judge Spencer is extensively known, as one of the most 
accomplished members of the judiciary department of the 
State of New York, and will be perpetuated without any aid 



63 

from me. This gentleman still survives, and resides in Lyons, 
in the State of New York. 

Gen. Peter B. Porter, now of Niagara Falls, is the youngest 
son of Col. Joshua Porter. Soon after he completed his col- 
legiate and professional studies, he, together with his elder 
brother, Hon. Augustus Porter, emigrated to the county of 
Ontario, in the State of New York. Gen. Porter was a 
member of Congress, and very early laid before that body 
the great national importance of the Erie Canal. In the late 
war with England, he took a conspicuous part, as commander 
of the New York volunteers, upon the northern frontier. He 
was actively engaged against the enemy, at the celebrated 
sortie from Fort Erie, and other important occasions. During 
a part of the administration of John Q. Adams, as President 
of the United States, Gen. Porter was Secretary of War. 

Hon. Augustus Porter, second son of Col. Porter, equally 
useful and respected in civil life, still survives — the father of a 
highly distinguished family. 

Hon. Josiah S. Johnston, late of Louisiana, and a much 
valued member of the Senate of the United States, was the 
son of Dr. John Johnston, of this town. He removed, when 
a child, with his father to Kentucky. He fell a victim to a 
fatal explosion of a steamboat, on the Mississippi river, a few 
years ago. 

Among the members of Congress from other States, who 
were born or reared in this town, the names of Hon. Elisha 
Whittlesey, of Ohio, and Hon. Graham H. Chapin, Charles 
Johnston, and Theron R. Strong, of New York, are now re- 
collected. 

Rev. Horace Holley, D. D., a distinguished scholar and elo- 
quent divine, President of the Transylvania University, was 
the son of the late Luther Holley. 

Rev. Isaac Bird, a devoted Missionary in Asia, a descend- 
ant of Joseph Bird, Esq., one of our earliest settlers and first 
magistrates, was born and educated here. 



64 

Myron Holley and Orville L. Holley, Esquires, sons of the 
late Luther Holley, distinguished as scholars and gentlemen, 
and by various responsible employments in public life, were 
nurtured and educated, if not born among us. 

I ought not here to omit the name of Chester Averill, late 
Professor of Chemistry in Union College, who died in 1836, 
just as he began to give certain promise of extensive useful- 
ness and high literary distinction. He was the son of Mr. 
Nathaniel P. Averill, of this town. 

In connection with the names of professional gentlemen 
who have lived and died with us, and distinguished individuals 
who have removed from us, I refer to others, whom we and 
our fathers have honored with our confidence, as Representa- 
tives to the General Assembly of this State. 

As no Colony tax was assessed and collected of the people 
of this town, before the year 1756, so we were not, until that 
time, entitled to a representation in the Colony Legislature. 
Previously, however, the town, on special occasions, appointed 
and paid special agents to the General Court. 

In 1743, Samuel Bellows was appointed an agent to attend 
the Assembly, at its October session for that year, to get a 
land tax for the town. 

In the following October, Benajah WiUiams and Thomas 
Newcomb were appointed agents to get an explanation of the 
tax of the previous year. 

In January, 1745, Samuel Bellows was appointed an agent 
to procure a patent, or deed of confirmation, of the lands in 
the town. 

In February, 1747, Thomas Chipman, Esq. was appointed 
an agent to procure a location of a scite for the meeting 
house. 

The following is a Roll of the members of Assembly from 
this town : 



65 



May Session. 
1757, Joha Everts, Thomas Chipiuan. 
175S, James Landon, John Everts. 

1759, James Landon, Samuel Moore. 

1760, John Everts, Josiah Stoddard. 

1761, John Everts, Josiah Stoddard. 

1762, John Everts, Josiah Stoddard. 

1763, John Everts, James Landon. 

1764, James Landon, Amos Fuller. 

1765, Thos. Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 

1766, Thos. Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 

1767, Thos. Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 

1768, Thos. Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 

1769, Thos. Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 

1770, Joshua Porter, James Landon. 

1771, Joshua Porter. 

1772, Thomas Chittenden, John Everts. 

1773, Joshua Porter, James Landon. 

1774, Joshua Porter, James Landon. 

1775, Joshua Porter, Abial Camp. 

1776, Abial Camp, Joshua Porter. 

1777, Joshua Porter. 

1778, Joshua Porter, Hezekiah Fitch. 

1779, Timo. Chittenden, Joshua Stanton. 

1780, Joshua Porter, Hezekiah Fitch. 

1781, Joshua Porter, Abial Camp. 

1782, Joshua Porter, Elisha Fitch. 

1783, Hezekiah Fitch, EUsha Fitch. 

1784, Lot Norton, Hezekiah Fitch. 

1785, Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 

1786, Elisha Fitch, Lot Norton. 

1787, Elisha Fitch. 

1788, Lemuel Wheeler, Hezekiah Fitch. 

1789, Lemuel Wheeler, Adonijah Strong. 

1790, Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 

1791, Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 

1792, Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 

1793, Hezekiah Fitch, Adonijah Strong. 

1794, Joshua Porter, David Waterman. 

1795, Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 

1796, Joshua Porter, Adonijah Strong. 

1797, Joshua Porter, Samuel Lee. 

1798, Joshua Porter, Joseph Canfield, Jr. 

1799, Joshua Porter, Joseph Caniie'd, Jr. 



October Session. 

John Everts, Josiah Stoddard. 
Josiah Stoddard, John Hutchinson. 
Josiah Stoddard, Samuel Moore. 
John Everts. 

John Everts, Timothy Brownson. 
John Everts. 

John Everts, James Landon. 
Thomas Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 
James Landon, Samuel Moore. 
Thomas Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 
Thomas Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 
Thomas Chittenden, James Bird. 
Thomas Chittenden, Joshua Porter. 
Joshua Porter, James Landon. 
Thomas Chittenden, John Everts. 
Joshua Porter, James Landon. 
Joshua Porter, James Landon. 
Joshua Porter, Hezekiah Fitch. 
Abial Camp, James Bird. 
.Joshua Porter, Abial Camp. 
Joshua Porter, Abial Camp. 
Joshua Poiter, Hezekiah Fitch. 
Timothy Chittenden, Hezekiah Fitch. 
Joshua Porter, Abial Camp. 
Joshua Poiter, Hezekiah Fitch. 
Joshua Porter, Hezekiah Fitch. 
Joshua Stanton, Lot Norton. 
Joshua Porter, Hezekiah Fitch. 
Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 
Elisha Fitch, Lemuel Wheeler. 
Lemuel Wheeler, Hezekiah Fitch. 
Lemuel Wheeler, Samuel Lee. 
Hezekiah Fitch, Lemuel Wheeler. 
Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 
Adonijah Strong, Samuel Lee. 
Adonijah Strong, Samuel Lee. 
Hezekiah Fitch, Adonijah Strong. 
Hezekiah Fitch, Joshua Porter. 
Joshua Porter, Samuel Lee. 
Joshua Porter, Samuel Lee. 
Joshua Porter, Elisha Sterling. 
Joshua Porter, Joseph Cantield, Jr. 
Joshua Porter, Joseph Canfield, Jr. 



GO 



May Session. 

1800, Samuel Lee, Jeremiah Danchy. 

1801, Joshua Poller, Jeremiah Daiiuhy. 

1802, Jeremiah Daiichy, Nath'l Church. 

1803, T. Chittenden, Jr., Pbineas Chupiii. 

1804, Phineas Chapin, Eli.sha Steiling-. 

1805, James Johnston, Jeremiah Dauchy. 

1806, Phineas Chapin, Stephen Keed. 
1S07, Phineas Chapin, Nathaniel Everts. 
1803, Elrsha Slei-ring, Lot Norton, Jr. 

1809, Lot Norton, Jr., Phineas Chapin. 

1810, Silas Moore, Peter Farnam. 
ISll, Luther HoUey, Lot Norton. 

1812, Timothy Chittenden, Peter Farnam 

1813, Peter Farnam, Lot Norton. 

1814, Lot Norton, Eliphalet Whittlesey. 
181-5, Elisha Sterling, John C. Coffiiig. 

1816, Elisha Sterling, Jonathan Scoville 

1817, Daniel Johnston, Abijah C. Peet. 

1818, Daniel Johnston, Abijah C. Peet. 

1819, Daniel Johnston, Abijah C. Peet. 

1820, Silas Reed, Samuel Church. 

1821, Samuel Church, Newman Holley. 

1822, Martin Strong, Thomas N. Smith. 

1823, Samuel Church, Parley Hubbard. 

1824, Samuel Church, Parley Hubbard. 
182.5, Seneca Petlee, Newman Holley. 

1826, Silas Reed, Newman Holley. 

1827, Newman Holley, Robert Ball. 

1828, Phineas Chapin, Thomas N. Smith. 

1829, Samuel Church, Robert Ball. 

1830, Abijah C. Peet, Jared S. Harrison. 
1S31, Samuel Church, Lot Norton. 

1832, Jared S. Harrison, Luther Ticknor. 

1833, Luther Ticknor, Nathaniel Benedict, Jr. 

1834, Nathaniel Benedict, Jr., Frederick Plumb. 

1835, Jared S. Harrison, Frederick A. Walton. 

1836, Frederick A. Walton, John Ensign. 

1837, John Ensign, William P. Russell. 

1838, Nathaniel Benedict, John Russell, Jr. 

1839, William H. Walton, Thomas B. Bosworth 

1840, Thomas B- Bosworth, Nehemiah Clark. 

1841, No choice. 



October Session. 
David Waterman, Jeremiah Dauchy. 
Joshua Porter, Samuel Lee. 
Adonijah Strong, Nathaniel Church. 
Timo. Chittenden, Jr., Phineas Chapin. 
John Whittlesey, Lot Noiton, Jr. 
Timothy Chittenden, Jr., Phineas Chapin. 
Stephen Reed, Samuel Lee. 
Nathaniel Everts, Samuel Lee. 
Lot Norton, Jr., Peter Farnam. 
Lot Norton, Jr., Samuel Lee. 
Lot Norton, Silas Moore. 
Luther Holley, Lot Norton. 
Lot Norton, Luther Holley. 
Martin Strong, Eliphalet Whittlesey. 
Elisha Sterling, Lot Norton. 
Elisha Sterling, Lot Norton. 
Elisha Sterling, Jonathan Scoville. 
Dan Johnston, Abijah C. Peet. 
Silas Reed, Alexander Lamb. 



67 

The following gentlemen have officiated as magistrates of 
the town : — Thomas Chipman, Joseph Bird, James Landon, 
John Hutchinson, Thomas Chittenden, Abial Camp, Elisha 
Fitch, Joshua Porter, Lot Norton, Adonijaii Strong, Samuel 
Lee, John Whittlesey, Lot Norton, Jr., Elisha Sterling, Phineas 
Chapin, John M. Holley, Eliphalet Whittlesey, Martin Strong, 
Samuel Church, Seneca Pettee, Philander Wheeler, John G. 
Mitchell, Newman Holley, Abijah C, Peet, Abial Chapin, John 
H. Hubbard, Albert Moore, William P. Russell, William C. 
Sterling, Nathaniel Benedict, Samuel C. Scoville, Lot Nor- 
ton, 3d, Elisha Lee, Roger Averill, Timothy Chittenden. 

The members of the State Convention, in 1818, for forming 
a constitution of civil government for this State, were Daniel 
Johnston and Samuel Church. These delegates advocated 
the adoption of the constitution, in the Convention ; and the 
question of its adoption, at a meeting of our electors, in Oc- 
tober, 1818, was carried by an affirmative majority of eighty- 
three votes. 

In the late war with England, of 1812, several non-com- 
missioned officers and privates enlisted from this town, but 
few of whom ever returned : although it is not known that 
more than one of them was slain in battle. John O'Kain was 
killed in the battle of Bridgewater. It is said of him, that 
while lying upon the ground, after receiving his mortal wound, 
he twice discharged his musket at the enemy. 

In a review of the progress of our town from its infancy 
until the present time, it is impossible to repel the recollection 
of its political condition in reference to the agitating questions, 
which, for the last half century, have disturbed the peace and 
social condition of the country. I have no disposition on this 
occasion, to say more on this subject, than to remark, that 
we have not been exempt from these disturbing causes. Party 
has found here a theatre of action, as well as elsewhere, and 
has been productive of the same demoralizing results. I feel 
some complacency, if not pride, however, in being able to say, 



G8 

that during the first conflict of parties, the spirit of political 
proscription found no place for its exercise here. For a period 
of fifteen years from the adoption of our State Constitution in 
1818, I do not recollect that a magistrate of the town was dis- 
placed from office by reason of his party attachments. But 
here I must stop. Since that time, a different disposition has 
entered, and civil officers of great worth have been made to 
yield to party denunciation. This has been the equal fault, 
yes, the unjustified crime of both parties ! 

This is not the time nor the proper occasion to indulge in 
political I'eflections. But I cannot discharge a duty which I 
owe to the young men of my native place — the persons 
with whom, in part, the destinies of this country are soon to 
be entrusted, without entreating them to divest themselves of 
party and political prejudices. What is prejudice but an 
opinion formed without impartial examination ? This is a 
crime, and inexcusable in this age and country. My young 
friends, never be afraid of bringing preconceived opinions to 
the test of a patient and disinterested inquiry ! 

There have been traditionary accounts of events within our 
borders, which might merit perpetuity,if the evidence of authen- 
ticity would warrant it. Such as have not come down to us 
accompanied with satisfactory proof, I shall pass over without 
a notice. Mr. Grossman, in his sermon before alluded to, 
relates the circumstances of the defeat of a lai-ge body of 
Indians, in the northeasterly section of the town, before its 
settlement by the white people. In that narrative, I suppose 
there is an intermingling of fact with fiction. The best au- 
thenticated account of that affair, warrants me in saying, that 
in the year 1676, and just before the death of King Philip, 
Major TaJcott, of the Connecticut forces, pursued from West- 
field, towards Albany, a ffying body of Indians, who, after dis- 
comfiture in Philip's war, were seeking safety among the 
Mohawks. These Indians, under the direction of the Sachem 
of Winnimissett, or Brookfield, were overtaken, lying securely 



on the western bank of the Housatonuc river, at the ibrdino- 
place, about one mile south of the State line, near William 
Sardam's present residence. They were surprised just before 
the dawn of day, and about fifty of their number, including 
their Sachem, were either killed or taken.* 

An incident worthy of relation occurred at the Great Falls 
of the Housatonuc, in the spring freshet of 1837. Two of the 
men employed by Mr. Ames, at his iron works, attempted to 
cross the river in a boat ; such was the force of the current, 
that they were precipitated over the cataract. One of them, 
David O'Neal, an Irish laborer, was killed ; the other, Walter 
Holley, almost miraculously escaped, with little injury. 

The late Dr. Dwight, in one of his volumes, speaks of the 
moving rocks in the North, or Washining pond, in this town. 
There are several rocks, and one of considerable size, near 
the southern margin of that pond, which appear to have been 
propelled by some powerful force towards the shore, leaving 
deep trenches or gutters behind, and accumulating mud and 
gravel before them. Such appearances alone would not per- 
suade me, uncorroborated by the credible testimony of ob- 
servers, that these rocks had changed position. But I am 
compelled to yield my assent upon evidence of the actual 
observation of men of respectability, whose means of knowl- 
edge have been accurate. I am not sure that these are unusual 
phenomena. And, perhaps, they are the result of the immense 
pressure of the ice upon the rocks, connected with what may 
be the peculiar state of the earth, or bottom upon which they 
rest. 

Our ancestors were very little acquainted with what we 
boastingly call the credit system. They were men of thrift, 
and of sober, industrious habits. I do not find a single mort- 
gage deed upon our records, until nine years after our incor- 
poration ; nor any account of pauper expenses beibre the 

* Vol. I. Trum. His. Con. 36.5. Dwiaht's His. Con. 190. 



70 

year 1762. I do not infer from this, that we had no paupers 
before that time ; for the poor we always have with ns. Be- 
fore the year 1797, the poor charges had increased to such an 
extent as to induce the town to sacrifice its character for hu- 
manity, to its love of economy, and to dispose of its paupers 
for support, to the lowest bidder, at a public vendue ; and thus 
give to cupidity an easy opportunity of gratification, by lit- 
erally grinding the face of the poor. This cruel system was 
soon abandoned ; but within a few years it was resorted to 
again. Our pauper expenses, from various causes, notwith- 
standing, increased until they amounted to an average sum of 
one thousand dollars yearly. A new system was resorted to. 
In the spring of 1829, the town purchased of the late Simeon 
Granger, a farm with convenient buildings and utensils, and 
in that year established an Asylum for the maintainance of 
the poor. 

This farm consists of about two hundred and thirty-six 
acres of land, mostly on the College grant. The purchase 
was made for four thousand and five hundred dollars ; to i-aise 
which, a town stock was created, and sold in shares of one 
hundred dollars each, redeemable at different periods. Only 
thirteen hundred and fifteen dollars of this stock now remain 
due. The present expense of supporting the poor will average 
about four hundred and thirty dollars annually, inclusive of 
the interest of the unredeemed stock. Connected with the 
Asylum is a work house, for the punishment of small offenses. 

At this Asylum our paupers are supported in a style of com- 
fort and competence equal to that enjoyed by the generality 
of our citizens. This institution is deservedly a favorite of 
the town, and under humane and careful management, will 
continue to be, as it now is, a comfortable resting place for 
our aged, infirm, and destitute friends, on their way to the 
grave 1 The present number of paupers supported at the 
Asylum, is fourteen. The town ought not to forget the philan- 
thropic zeal and efforts of the late Elisha Sterling, Esq. and 
Mr. John C. Coiiing, in the establishment of this institution. 



71 

In connection with poverty, it has not been unusual to speak 
of crime. They have no necessary connection, however. And 
when they have been associated, the common cause of both 
has been intemperance. A Temperance Society was formed 
here ten years ago, and produced salutary efiects upon the 
habits of our people. Formerly, the commission of petty of- 
fences, such as batteries, breaches of the peace, &c., were 
very frequent; but within the last ten years, have very sen- 
sibly diminished, so that we seldom hear of a prosecution for 
these delinquencies. There have been two indictments found 
against our citizens, for the crime of murder, both of which 
resulted in acquittals. One against the colored slave or ser- 
vant of Col. Blagden, for killing the slave of Col. Sheldon, 
soon after the Revolutionary War ; and one against Jacob Van- 
dusen, for poisoning his wife with arsenic, in the year 1817. 

The progress of the temperance reformation, within the last 
three years, has received a check among us, from which I 
fear it will not soon recover, without sincere, as well as united 
efforts in its favor. ^-^ 

Since Rev. Mr. Crossman's account of our public cemete- 
ries was published, but one burying place has been located — 
the new burying yard, north of the center village. This was 
purchased, and the south half of it laid into lots, in the year 
1830. Deacon Mylo Lee was the first person buried in it. 
A map of this burying place is lodged in the Town Clerk's 
office. 

An allusion to the geographical peculiarities of the town is not 
irrelevant to its history. To us, who live amidst, and are con- 
stantly looking out upon our surrounding scenery, it is familiar 
and common-place ; but to our emigrant friends, to whom 
these objects were once endeared, the mention of them may 
revive recollections and associations of deep and grateful in- 
terest. 

A distinguished clerical gentleman, who had passed several 
years in the south of Europe, said to me, that the landscape 



72 

scenery of Salisbury surpassed, in beauty and variety, any 
thing he had witnessed abroad. 

Brace mountain, the westernmost summit of Tocconuc, fre- 
quently invites the visits of strangers. From this elevation, 
in a day of sunshine, the counties of Dutchess and Columbia, 
in the State of New York, as far as the vision can extend, ap- 
pear spread down before the observer ; while, in the western 
distance, the lofty Catskill, with its mountain-house distinctly 
visible, rises up to arrest the sight. 

The traveler, as he approaches us from the south, and as he 
commences his descent from Town Hill, frequently stops to 
gaze upon the prospect which opens to his view. From the 
most elevated points of Smith's and Brinton's hills, too, and 
where the public roads pass over them, the landscapes are of 
peculiar beauty. Indeed, the pencil of the artist can be fur- 
nished with as many and as splendid subjects of employment, 
among the hills and waters of Salisbury, as can be found even 
in the far-famed and more fashionable highland scenery of the 
Hudson river ! 

Our streams and our lakes are not without their attractions, 
especially to the disciples of good Isaak Walton. The for- 
mer are well stored with the speckled trout, and the pickerel 
and the perch abound in the latter. But it is not every vain 
and uninspired knight of the hook and line, who can lure our 
cunning fish to his bait ! The pickerel was not originally 
found here, but was transplanted from Bantam pond, in Litch- 
field, about the year 1812. 

Such has been the even tenor of our way, since the events 
of the Revolution and the settlement of our national govern- 
ment, that the history of one year tells the story of the suc- 
ceeding one, from year to year, with little to diversify. 

Our fathers have been passing away with the passing cur- 
rent. We look around, and wonder where are the old men, 
and our contemporaries of other days. Either the burying 
places in our midst, or other regions of our country, contain 



73 

nearly all of them. There are now surviving, over the age 
of sixty years, and present inhabitants of the town, only about 
fifteen native born male citizens. 

The progress of change has been gradual, and yet it has 
been almost radical. We can note it only by comparing 
what is, with what has been. In nothing, perhaps, has there 
been a greater change, from olden to the present time, than in 
the facilities of travel and intercourse. The early settlers 
had no carriages for the conveyance of persons. For many 
years the state of the roads would not permit their use. The 
horse supplied the place of traveling carriages. The ox cart 
in summer, and the ox sled in winter, were the only vehicles 
used. The horse was early trained to carry double, and this 
qualification was essential in the estimation of all purchasers ; 
and a false warranty in this respect, was a frequent cause of 
litigation. In order to use the horse for double riding, a pillion 
was a notable and necessary accompaniment. This was al- 
ways furnished by the ladies, as it was intended for their ex- 
clusive accommodation, and they frequently displayed much 
taste in its fashion and ornament. Thus provided, the good 
man and his wife, with perhaps the youngest child, were sure 
to be found at meeting on the Sabbath. And in this way too, 
the lads and lasses, defying, with their sure footed beast, the 
roughest roads and darkest nights, attended the quilting and 
the dance ! 

In the amusements of former days, there was nothing of ef- 
feminacy. Perhaps our amusements are more intellectual, if 
by this be meant an indulgence in all the frivolous literary 
dissipation of the present day. The wrestling match, among 
the young men, was universal, and the leader of the ring was 
esteemed of some consequence. The apple-pearing, the quilt- 
ing, and the ball, afforded the young of both sexes their most 
frequent social amusements. 

Artificial distinctions in society, particularly in the female 
branch of it, were hardly visible fifty years ago. 

" When Adam delved and Eve span. 
Where was then the gentleman 1" 
10 



74 

I would not insinuate that the females of this age are less in- 
dustrious than their mothers of a former one ; but it is very 
certain that their industry is less healthful and productive. 
The neatly sanded floor has given place to the carpet ; and 
the wheel, the distaff, and the loom, are viewed now, rather 
as antique curiosities, than as things of use. But, after all, 
this is rather a misfortune than a lault — a misfortune produced 
by what is called, falsely I think, the improving progress of 
society. 

Our ancestors, here and elsewhere, had no respect for In- 
dian character, and seemed to desire, with the extinction of 
the race, to extinguish all memorials of its existence. In 
nearly all instances, Indian names of prominent objects were 
discarded, and others adopted, frequently vulgar and without 
meaning. Indian names were always significant ; but in al- 
most every instance their meaning is lost to us. 

Housatonuc, is said to signify, Over the Mountains, or the 
River of the Hills. 

The Furnace Pond, as you know, was called, by the abori- 
gines, Wonunscopomuc ; and this name is retained, w^ith va- 
rious spellings, in many of the early conveyances. 

The two ponds at the north part of the town, described in 
the old records as lying " very nearly close together," were 
called Washinee and Washining. 

The Long Pond at the southwest part of the town, the In- 
dians called Wononpakook ; and the stream flowing through 
our center village, they called Wachocastinook. The stream 
flowing from the pond at Chapinsvill:>, was called Succunops. 

The eastern range of hills', parallel with the Housatonuc, 
the Indians called Wotowanchu. The steep mountain bluff', 
which extends itself almost into our midst, has always retained 
its Dutch name of Barack-Matiff"; meaning, as I suppose, a 
steep and high hill. 

The range of high lands in the northeast part of the town, 
extending westerly from the Housatonuc river, is known to us 
as Tom's Hill. But before any white people had settled here, 



75 

and as as early as 1717, that hill, from good authority, 
received the name of Mount Eschol, which it ought now 
to retain. The Commissioners of the Colonies of Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut, run a line between them, in Septem- 
ber, 1717; and, after crossing over to the west bank of the 
Housatonuc, they say, " On the west bank we set up a stake 
and heap of stones, and proceeded two miles, which ends on 
a mountain we call Mount Eschol, from the mighty clusters of 
grapes there growing." From that elevation, the Commission- 
ers could overlook the intervening valley, and they discovered 
the long waterfall, as it descends from the top of Tocconuc, 
nearly along the State line, to the low grounds, and which the 
Commissioners say, " may be seen for many miles distance, 
and which runs through a stony gutter, tivo hundred feet 
deep ! /" 

The hill on the southwesterly quarter of the town, is called 
Indian Mountain, from a very considerable village of Indians, 
which w'as once situated at its western margin. 

This is an appropriate occasion to refer to the names and 
character of some of the most useful and efficient of the early 
settlers of the town — the men by whose efforts our social 
foundations were laid. Curiosity prompts us to know what 
they were, and where they lived. In addition to those to 
whom allusion has been made, I speak of some others. 

Thomas Newcomb resided here before the sale of the town, 
and was a large landholder and a prominent inhabitant. He 
presided in our first town meeting, and was the first Select- 
man chosen in the town. His place of residence was on the 
road leading from Lime Rock to Town Hill, and at or near 
the old Bradley tavern. 

Cyrenus Newcomb, the first Town Clerk, I believe was the 
son of Thomas Newxomb. He resided on the farm lately 
owned by the late Samuel Lee, Esq. Both of these gentle- 
men, about the year 1747, removed from the town, to a place 
then known as Crom Elbow precinct, in the present town 
of Amenia, in the State of New York. 



76 

The Chipman family was numerous and highly respectable. 
Thomas Chipman, the ancestor, and who was the first offi- 
ciating Justice of the Peace in the town, emigrated from Barn- 
stable, Massachusetts, to Groton, in this State ; and from Gro- 
ton he came here, in 1741, He settled near Lamb's iron works, 
and was a proprietor in the saw mill and grist mill there. He 
erected the house now standing, which for many years was 
the residence of the Johnston family. He was a member of 
the first Church organized here. He was appointed an as- 
sociate Judge of this county, but died in the summer of 1752, 
at the age of sixty-five, before he entered upon the duties of 
the office. His sons were Thomas, John, Samuel, Amos, and 
Jonathan. Thomas, the eldest son, was one of the first elect- 
ed members of Assembly. He died a bachelor, here, at an ad- 
vanced age. John also died in this town. The other sons 
removed to Vermont, before the Revolution ; and I am not in- 
formed whether a single descendant of this family remains 
with us. The longevity of this family is remarkable. Jona- 
than and Samuel died at the age of ninety-one years. John, 
the eldest son of John Chipman, was a Captain in the army of 
the Revolution, and died at the age of eighty-six. Four 
sons of Samuel Chipman died, successively, at the ages of 
seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven, and seventy-eight. 
Hon. Nathaniel Chipman, the eldest son of Samuel, now sur- 
vives, at the age of eighty-nine ; and Daniel, the youngest 
son of Samuel, is living, at the age of seventy-six. 

Capt. Samuel Beebe was the first Treasurer of the town- 
He emigrated from Litchfield. Was a large landholder in the 
eastern part of the town. The only descendant of this gentle- 
man, now alive among us, is David Bebee. His homestead 
and place of residence was the farm now owned by John 
Adam, near the Little Falls of the Housatonuc. 

Benajah Williams was a Selectman in 1743; he removed 
from Goshen here in 1742, and settled near the Furnace Pond, 
and was one of the first eleven members of the Church. The 



77 

Ticknor family, by a female branch, are descendants of this 
gentleman. 

John Smith was one of the first elected Selectmen, and a 
gentleman of considerable estate and respectability. His 
place of residence is not known by me. He removed from 
the town, and settled at Beekman's Patent, in the Province of 
New York, about the year 1746. 

Thomas Austin, the first constable of the town, was a 
bloomer at Lamb's iron works, and resided in that neighbor- 
hood, and I believe, was an ancestor of the late Hon. Aaron 
Austin, of New Hartford. 

Nathaniel Skinner was a Selectman in 1743, and one of the 
first members of the Church. He was the son of Nathaniel 
Skinner, Esq., of Sharon. He owned the farm on the side of 
the mountain, about one mile and a half northwest of the 
meeting house, and since owned by Reuben Chapin. His 
daughter Rebecca, the widow of Moore Bird, was the wife of 
Capt. Timothy Chittenden. 

Deacon John Hutchinson came here from Lebanon, in 1743, 
and settled on the farm lately owned by the Brinsmaid family. 
He soon afterwards removed to a farm at the westerly foot of 
Barack-Matiff" Hill, where his son, Mr. Asa Hutchinson, and 
his grandson, Myron Hutchinson, have ever since resided. He 
was, for several years, one of the Justices of the Peace in the 
town. He was the third Town Clerk, and was elected in 1747, 
and held the office thirty-one years, and was succeeded in the 
office by his son, Asa Hutchinson, who held the same office 
thirty-eight years. Deacon Hutchinson was one of the first 
deacons of the Church here. 

Josiah Stoddard emigrated from Litchfield in 1743, and 
settled on a farm on the south side of the Furnace Pond, where 
Harvey D. Warner now lives. He was our second Town 
Clerk, and for several years a member of the General Assem- 
bly. He was the father of Major Luther Stoddard, of the 
Revolutionary Army, and ancestor of Hon. Josiah J. Johnston, 



78 

late Senator of the United States from Louisiana. The chil- 
dren of Judge Burrall, of Canaan, are lineal descendants of 
this respectable gentleman. 

Samuel Moore came originally from Southold, on Long 
Island, to Litchfield, and from thence to this town, in 1743. 
He settled at the foot of Barack-MatifF, near deacon Hutchin- 
son, where his descendants now live. He was for many 
years Treasurer of the town ; and this office, with few inter- 
ruptions, has been, and now is in a family of his descendants. 

The Landon family, in England, was located in Notting- 
hamshire, on the Welch border. That branch of it which 
settled here, came from Southold, on Long Island, to Litch- 
field, and settled on the present Marsh farm in that town, at 
the foot of the hill, about one half mile north of the village. 
James and John Landon, brothers, came to this town in 1749. 
James settled in the south part of the town, near the small 
pond, called by us the Beezlake Pond, and by the Indians, Non- 
Cook. He was one of the first magistrates in the town, and, 
for many years, a member of the General Assembly. His de- 
scendants were numerous, and among them still surviving, are 
our highly valued friend, John R. Landon, Esq., of Litchfield, 
for many years SherifFof this county ; and our venerable fellow 
townsman, Ashbill Landon. John Landon settled on Sugar 
Hill, in the east part of the town. He married a grand- 
daughter of William White, the first settler. Mr. Rufus Lan- 
don is a descendant of this branch of the family. 

The family of Camps was an early and respectable one. 
Deacon Hezekiah Camp, the ancestor, came from New Haven, 
now East Haven, in 1746. He erected the dwelling house 
still occupied by his descendants — the Ball family. This is 
the oldest inhabited house in the town. The sons of deacon 
Camp were Hezekiah, Abial, Luke, John, and Samuel. The 
family name here is extinct ; but the descendants are numer- 
ous. The families of Ball, Lee, Chapin, Smith, are, in some of 
their branches, lineally descended from deacon Camp. 

The Chapin family, for many years, was numerous in this 



79 

town and highly respectable. The brothers, Charles and 
Reuben Chapin, emigrated, I believe, from Enfield, in 1746. 
Reuben occupied the farm adjoining the Brinsmaid farm, 
before that time owned by Nathaniel Skinner. Charles settled 
under the mountain, north of and adjoining the Lyman farm. 
The late Phineas Chapin, Esq., and his family, were lineally 
descended from Charles Chapin. 

Of the Binghams it was once said, that they and their kin- 
dred constituted half of the population in the northern section 
of the town. Jabez, Silas, and Daniel Bingham came from 
Windham, in 1750. They were the sons of Jabez Bingham, 
formerly of Lebanon. They were at first located under the 
mountain, adjoining deacon Camp's. Daniel subsequently set- 
tled upon the Washinee and Washining Lakes ; or, as we say 
between the ponds, where he died in the winter of 1803. The 
late Caleb Bingham, of Boston, was his son. The Ticknor fam- 
ily and a branch of the Moore family are his lineal descendants. 

John, Nathaniel, and Sylvanus Everts, from Guilford, settled 
in the vicinity of the Furnace Pond, in 1749. John was our 
first representative in the General Assembly. The children of 
John Russell are descended from this gentleman. The de- 
scendants of Nathaniel yet remain, and in the occupancy of 
the farm of their ancestor. Sylvanus married a sister of Gov. 
Thomas Chittenden, and removed to Vermont before the Rev- 
olution. 

Thomas Chittenden, the first Governor of Vermont, and 
Capt. Timothy Chittenden, sons of Ebenezer Chittenden, of 
Guilford, settled here in 1750. Timothy was the ancestor of 
the Chittendens now remaining with us. 

Noah Strong was the ancestor of our Strong family, once 
numerous here, but now nearly gone from us. He removed 
from Coventry, in 1747, and settled on Town Hill. 

Joseph Bird, the ancestor of the families of that name here, 
removed from Litchfield, in 1748. His descendants occupy 
the farm where he first located himself, on the western con- 
fines of the town. 



80 

Lot Norton, 1st, was a native of Farmington, the son of 
Thomas Norton, one of the original proprietors of the town. 
He settled here early, and upon the farm where his son, my 
venerable and long respected friend, the moderator of this 
meeting, and his grandson, Lot Norton, 3d, now reside. This 
gentleman was long a respectable magistrate, and one of the 
most prominent of our early inhabitants. 

I intend, if future leisure shall permit, to collect materials 
for a more minute and circumstantial notice of all the most 
active inhabitants of the town, from the beginning until this 
time. 

It is expected of a history of new settlements, that it be a 
story of privations, and dangers, and suffering. The early 
adventurers here, especially those of English descent, experi- 
enced but little of such adversities. What we suppose now to 
be the necessaries of life, they would have relished as its luxu- 
ries. Our position, between the old settlements on the Hudson 
and Connecticut rivers, secured us from Indian incursions. 
The indispensable accommodations of the grist mill and the 
saw mill, were here, almost in advance of the settlements. 
Our fathers were brought into a good land, " a land of brooks 
of water, of fountains and depths, that spring out of valleys 
and hills ; a land whose stones were iron." 

The first list of taxable estate was made in 1742, which 
shows, as well as any thing, the relative wealth of the first in- 
habitants. The list of Thomas Newcomb amounted to one 
hundred and thirty-seven pounds ; Henry Vandusen's to one 
hundred and seventeen pounds ; Caleb Smith's to one hundred 
and thirty-six pounds ; John Smith's to one hundred and 
twelve pounds, and Samuel Bellows' to ninety-seven pounds. 
These were the rich men of that day ! 

An extract from some of the early records of births may 
amuse those unacquainted with the Christian names of the 
ladies of Dutch descent. 

Areonchee Vandusen, daughter of Hendrick Vandusen and 
Nelche his wife, was boi-n April 3, 1740. 



81 

Yockamenche Vandusen, daughter of the same parents, was 
born March 26, 1736. 

Yacimitia, daughter of Henry Butcher and Eleanor his 
wife, born Sept. 15, 1730. 

Janaca, daughter of the same parents, born Aug. 3, 1746. 

But, my fellow townsmen, time hastens to take us up, upon 
its circuit of another century ; and when, upon the course of 
her flight, she shall, at the close of the next hundred years, sit 
down the men of that day, here upon this spot of earth, what 
will they see 1 Yonder heights of old Tocconuc will stand 
as now, and overlook these valleys ; but whether in all the 
freshness of their forest garniture, or bleak, despoiled, and 
leafless, none can tell. Whether the smoke of the colliery, 
and the sound of the hammer, shall, as now% denote the exist- 
ence of a cheerful and thrifty population there ; or whether 
those hills will be forsaken, as desolate barrens, we cannot 
tell. 

Our beautiful lakes and streams will then remain, to give 
variety and beauty to the landscape. But whether they will 
be then, as they now are, surrounded and bordered by richly 
cultivated fields, displaying the neat and commodious dwell- 
ings of freemen ; or whether they will remain only to furnish 
a pittance of food to an enslaved and cringing population on 
their shores, none can tell. 

The more stately flow of the Housatonuc — the River of the 
Mountains — will then, as now, be seen, and the sound of its 
majestic water-fall be heard ; but whether its waters will be 
permitted to run wastefully away, or the populous and busy 
village shall spring up and flourish there, years must deter- 
mine. 

To the youth and the young men of Salisbury, I put a more 
important inquiry. At the close of another century, what 
will be the condition of our religious, literary, and civil insti- 
tutions, which your fathers have reared and cherished ? 

I put to you this question, because into your hands they are 

soon to be committed. 

11 



r^. 



82 

Shall these temples of rehgious worship, consecrated to the 
service of the Hving God, be permitted to moulder into ruins, 
with no pious hands to build them again ? Shall the religion 
of the Bible, pure and unadulterated by this world's philosophy, 
be taught in them, then ; or shall the advancing spirit of Pan- 
theism and infidelity take its place 1 Shall sectarian and de- 
nominational jealousies palsy the energies, and chill the affec- 
tions of good men, so that the advances of the common enemy 
cannot be stayed ? I charge you, here, in the presence of your 
assembled fathers, be faithful to the trust about to be com- 
mitted to you ! 

To contribute of your pecuniary means is but a part of 
your duty in perpetuating your religious privileges. Attend 
steadily and without excuse the public services of the sanc- 
tuary. I would with hesitancy give credit to a young man 
on his oath, in a court of justice, whom I should find habitually 
absenting himself from the public worship of God. 

That the men of another century will witness here, what our 
imaginations cannot now anticipate, is certain. Ever since 
the discovery of printing, and the dawn of the reformation, 
the march of intellect has been progressive. What shall 
impede it hereafter ? Does not the shining of one light illu- 
mine the way to the discovery of others ? The laws of mind 
as well as of matter will be more clearly developed and better 
understood. Every thing unusual will not, as heretofore, be 
considered as supernatural and miraculous. The malevolence 
and strife elicited by the discordant opinions and prejudices of 
this day, will be considered then, as the infirmities peculiar to . 
a by-gone age. At least this must be true, if the hopes of 
many a believer in the near approach of a day of millenial 
peace, shall ever be realized. 

My young friends, the days in which we live are portentous 
of evil to the civil and social institutions which our fathers 
have established, and of which you, with others, are soon to 
have the guardianship. Will they withstand the shock of con- 
flicting parties ? Can they resist the inroads of demoralizing 



83 

principles and actions, which party strife has brought in upon 
us? A shorter period than another century will reply ! 

But I am admonished to forbear. My much respected fel- 
low townsmen, another occasion like this will come neither 
to us nor our children ! The reflection need not be one of 
gloom or regret. A succession of men, like the succession of 
time, will come and pass along, until the purposes of God, in 
creation, shall be accomplished ! 

When the next Centennial commemoration of the event we 
now celebrate, shall be observed, the proceedings of this day 
will be repeated, and the examples which we and our children 
shall furnish, will then be appealed to, in praise or in censure. 
Our descendants, from the clustering cities of the Mississippi, 
and may be, from the Oregon of the Pacific Ocean, will some 
of them, here visit the places of their fathers' sepulture, and 
search among the fallen monuments and defaced inscriptions, 
to learn who w^e were, and what we have been ! Our respon- 
sibilities are immense ! And now, while we take our leave of 
the first century of our corporate existence, and to-morrow 
shall have commenced another ; ought we not, as we have 
reviewed the history of our social state, also review the 
temper and disposition of our hearts I Is there no bitterness, 
no jealousy, nor evil speaking, which should this day be put 
out from among us ? Can our social condition be worth pre- 
serving, unless this be done 1 Must we and our children be 
spoiled by faction, and agitated by division ? Will you leave 
to your descendants a legacy of strife ? Would to God, this 
could be made a day of jubilee, on which all former accounts 
" of envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness," could be 
canceled for ever ! 

But I will not indulge in these reflections — others, of a dif- 
ferent character, impress me. I see here, many of our old 
associates, the former inhabitants of our town, and I bid them 
welcome to their native home again ! 

My friends, you have not, in your absence, been forgotten 
by us. More frequently than you suppose, your names have 



84 

here been repeated ; and we have, by our fire-sides and in our 
social circles, spoken of you, again and again, with honest 
pride, as Salisbury men. Upon some of you, fortune has be- 
stowed favors with liberal hand ; and bitterness of spirit, un- 
der disappointed hopes, may have been the portion of others. 
But here, on this cheerful occasion, while within the embraces 
of your common parent — your native towii, which knows no 
distinction in her affection for her children — we invite you to 
be happy with us, your brethren. 

No small purpose of our present meeting has been, that we 
might take you by the hand, with a heart-felt God bless you. 
You look about this assembly for the once familiar faces of 
other friends. You see them not. We point you to their 
marble monuments ! Soon — to-morrow — with " lingering 
look behind," again, and perhaps for ever, you leave us, for 
the homes of your later choice. You leave these consecrated 
walls, where, perhaps, your earliest devotions w^ere paid, and 
your vows registered, to worship in other temples. And we 
acknowledge to you, that the duty of us, who remain, will 
ever be, so to live and act, tiiat the name of your parent town 
shall never make you ashamed. 

Others, very many, there are, of our emigrant friends, whom 
we had hoped to meet, but do not see among us this day : — 
they are with us in heart and spirit : — in their fancies and af- 
fections they are looking over these hills into the midst of our 
assembly. In the same affectionate spirit we receive them ! 
In our approaching festive and convivial interview, we will 
speak of them — we will inquire after them with anxious soli- 
citude — we will recall them again to our recollection, and the 
scenes of former life in which we have participated. And 
before we separate here, we will unite with our reverend and 
venerable friend,* who will close the public exercises of this 
house, in commending them, and all their interests, to the care 
of our heavenly Father, whose merciful Providence encircles 
us all. 



* Rev. Chauncev Lee. D. D. 



At a meeting of the Committee of Arrangements for the Centennial Celebration of 
the settlement of the Town of Salisbury, holden October 21, 1S41, 

Voted, That the thanks of this Committee be presented to John M. Holley, Esq. 
for his Address delivered yesterday, and that a copy of the same be requested for 
publication. 

ROGER AVER ILL, Clerk. 



Gentlemen — 

I place at your disposal the remarks I made at the late Centennial Celebration, 
feeling that the peculiar interest of the occasion, is all that can make it worth while 
to preserve them. 

Your obedient servant, 

JOHN M. HOLLEY. 
To Messrs. Samuel Church, 

Eliphalet Whittlesev, 
John C. Coffing, 
Jared S. Harrison, 
Samuel C. Scoville, 
Alexander H. Holley, 
Roger Averill. 

Lyotu, N. Y. January 1th, 1842. 



ADDRESS 



JOHN M. HOLLEY, ESQ., OF LYONS, N. Y. 



Mr. Moderator, 

I FEEL not a little embarrassment in addressing you. 
Not wholly a stranger, yet not quite a citizen — expa- 
triated from my native town by residence, yet still a 
loyal townsman in affection and in the pride of origin — 
I came here to-day to listen, not to speak. Especially, 
among so many, whose minuter knowledge, and longer 
reach of memory, could so much better interest you, I 
cannot feel justified in detaining you long. But he 
would be unworthy to be ranked among your children, 
who would hesitate to bear the part assigned him in 
your proceedings, although it were but to strike a single 
chord, with whose tones your hearts could vibrate in 
unison, upon an occasion appealing so strongly to the 
feelings ; knocking so earnestly at the door of the affec- 
tions, whose heart can be cold ? 

I can add nothing to what has been said already. 
The discourse, to which we have all been delighted 
listeners, has told us so misutely, so faithfully, and. so 
well, of our origin, our progress, and the interesting 



88 

events in our history, that we can best improve the 
moment that is left us of this unreturning day, by 
endeavoring to prolong, for a little while, the general 
impressions it has left upon our minds, and treasuring 
them there for future enjoyment. 

How full of interest is this occasion ! We are met 
to commemorate the origination of our native town — to 
revive the era of our social origin — to testify our rever- 
ence for the memory of our fathers, and to refresh the 
recollections, and brighten the associations, which bind 
together their children ! 

We stand together, to-day, on our native soil, to look 
back over the period of an hundred years, a space ex- 
ceeding the ordinary limits of three generations ; we 
stand together — the fathers and their children — in the 
midst of the homes, the fields, the mountains, and the 
graves, which have witnessed all of joy or of sorrow, 
that life has allotted to most of us — to rekindle the long 
gone past, hallowed to us by all that is precious in the 
eye of patriotism, of social affection, of civil freedom. 
The remembrances that crowd upon our minds to-day, 
are rife of mingled pain and pleasure : pain, that the 
review we have taken, calls up before us so many of the 
departed, our fellow citizens, our brethren, our fathers, 
and all the griefs that wrung our hearts when they died : 
of pleasure and honest exultation, that these, our blood 
and kindred, have left us the boast of a worthy lineage, 
and an inheritance of blessings. 

It is ever profitable to recur to the past. If its his- 
tory be painful, it may yet he full of instruction ; how 
much better then, when that history is the record of a 



89 

thousand virtues ! Who were our ancestors, the im- 
mediate founders of the Uttle community here assem- 
bled 1 They were men of the soundest character, the 
manUest mould. We admire that hardy enterprise, 
which led them into the wilderness ; that patient en- 
durance, which enabled them to bear its early priva- 
tions ; that unconquerable energy, which subdued the 
stubborn barrenness of nature, as she flourished here a 
century ago, and brought these vales to teem with fruit- 
fulness, and these hills to smile with culture. We re- 
vere their intelligence and wise foresight, which assisted 
to plant civil and religious liberty in our land, and to 
organize social institutions upon just and equal, upon 
broad and stable foundations. Forever honored be 
their memories ! Let the virtues they illustrated, be 
perpetuated among their descendants, whether lingering 
by the old hearths and firesides, or wandering in remote 
quarters of the earth, to the latest generations. 

Some of the aged are still left among us ; a few frost- 
ed heads and time-bent forms proclaim the primitive 
settlers. Venerable men ! the links which bind us to 
our social origin — the witnesses who tell us of the past ! 
Your race is almost run ; you have acted your parts ; 
you have transmitted to us the legacy of our social in- 
stitutions, our liberty, our principles, without waste or 
detriment. The business of hfe, the burden of pubhc 
duty, has fallen upon us of a younger generation. As 
one of that generation, may I not here, on this occasion, 
in their name, pledge to you and to all, our solemn 
promise, to preserve all that is precious in the inheri- 
tance you leave us ; to emulate all that is worthy in the 
12 



90 

example you bequeath us. We will not waste or de- 
stroy the least of so goodly an heritage ; we cannot be 
so base as to bring shame upon so proud an origin. 

We cannot forget, on an occasion like this, another 
fact in our history. We are a part of New England 
— of glorious New England — whose name shall never 
perish from the records of renown, which tell the story 
of that resistance to oppression, of that desperate strug- 
gle for the establishment of civil and religious liberty, 
which was so nobly crowned in the success of the 
American Revolution — of New England, whose sons 
have scattered themselves, and the principles which 
were their best inheritance, into every part of this wide- 
spread country. Yes, in the language of one of her 
cherished sons, " every valley is vocal with the voices 
of her children ; the bones of her sons have whitened 
the soil of every State from Maine to Georgia ; at this 
hour her blood swells every vein of this mighty repub- 
lic." If there be any thing of which a man may be 
proud, it is that he had his origin among her industri- 
ous, hardy, virtuous, free population ; that his birthright 
was that regulated liberty, and his nurture that manly 
training, which enabled him to win or to conquer for 
himself, all the good which civilized and instructed 
man may covet or enjoy. 

If I might assume, Mr. Moderator, to represent the 
emigrant portion of your citizens, on this occasion, in 
their name I would thank you for calhng us together, 
here, this day. You have summoned us back to our 
native town, and we again tread its soil with hearts all 
as filial and devoted, as that of the Scottish bard : 



91 

"Breathes there a man, with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said. 
This is my own, my native land ? 
If such there be, go, mark him well j 
For him no minstrel raptures swell. 
High though his titles — proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim ; 
Despite his titles, power, and pelf. 
The wretch, concentered all in self. 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung. 
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung." 

It was here that our eyes first opened upon the light 
of heaven ; it was among these valleys that our boy- 
hood wandered. These hills echoed the voices of our 
buoyant, fresh-springing youth ; these streams rippled 
the music of our dawning life ; this soil still nourishes 
the most of our living kindred, and embraces, in its 
hallowed bosom, the bones of our departed fathers. 
We thank you, that you have called us back once 
more, and upon this marked era of time, to look upon 
the moss-grown monuments, which tell their graves. 
We thank you for this opportunity of exchanging wel- 
come and congratulation, and all kind, sociable wishes, 
with all our early friends and kindred. 



ODES 

FOR THE 

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

AT SALISBURY, CONNECTICUT, 
OCTOBER 20, 1841. 



PREPARED BY REV. JONATHAN LEE. 
EMIGRANTS. 

" Land of our fathers ! wheresoe'er we roam, 
Land of our birth ! to us thou still art home : 
Peace and prosperity on thy sons attend, 
Down to posterity their influence descend." 

CITIZENS. 

Dear brethren, home-born I welcome to these seats ; 
Gladly we greet you, in our loved retreats : 
Bright shine our lakes, still — beauteous are our hills — 
Rich are our corn-fields — pure our mountain rills. 

EMIGRANTS. 

" Though other climes may brighter hopes fulfill, 
Land of our birth I we ever love thee still ; 
Heaven shield our happy homes from each hostile band, 
Freedom and plenty ever crown our native land." 

CITIZENS. 

Come to our fire-sides, where, long years ago, 
Those now in heaven, strung their harps below : 
O let us worship where our fathers bow'd. 
Tune all our heart-strings, sound our anthems loud. 

CHORUS. 

" All then inviting, hearts and voices joining, 
Sing we in harmony our native land." 



93 



BY REV. JONATHAN LEE. 

Where erst the red man twang'd his bow, 

Where howl'd the beast of prey, 
Near Housatonuc's lonely flow, 

Where brooding darkness lay. 
Secure we drive the glittering share. 

We sow the furrow'd field, 
Rich plains, beneath the tiller's care. 

Their golden harvests yield. 

A Pilgrim band, our fathers came, 

They fell'd the wilderness ; 
These lovely scenes their toils proclaim, 

And deep our hearts impress — 
Ye towering hills, repeat their praise. 

Fair lakes, their story tell, 
While we recall the ancient days. 

And hear a century's knell. 

In darkness lay the unwrought oar. 

Till call'd by Freedom's voice. 
It bade the fiery cannon roar, 

And made our land rejoice ; 
Then Peace spread forth her golden wing, 

Wealth pour'd its flowing tide ; 
Our sires their songs triumphant sing, 

Where we, their sons, abide. 

Our fathers' God, thy name we praise, 

For thou, in peril's hour, 
Heardst when they knelt their prayers to raise, 

And sought thy guardian power : 
Praise for this goodly heritage, 

By them so dearly bought, 
And may our sons, from age to age, 

Preserve it as they ought. 



94 

Let Science here ne'er cease to shine ; 

Here may Religion dwell ; 
Let Truth and Righteousness combine, 

The general bliss to swell : 
Good Spirit, come, make thine abode 

In these our native seats, 
Thyself the purest gift bestow'd, 

While Time his hours repeats. 



BY CHURCHILL COFFING, ESQ. 

Written for the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Settlement of the town of 
Salisbury, Ldtchfield Co., Connecticut, October 20th, 1841. 

Marsailles Hymn. 

Sons of the Pilgrims, hear the story, 
List, list to deeds of ancient days, 
To deeds of courage, bright with glory, 
Eternal be their meed of praise ; 
When lawless tyrants, peace deriding, 
Our fathers drove from their native land, 
Far o'er the sea, a helpless band. 
In God's right arm alone confiding. 

CHORUS. 

For truth, for truth they came, 

For truth their toils were borne ; 

They came, they came, their hearts resolv'd 

On liberty or death. 

On them high rose a rock-bound shore. 
With shadowing forests grimly spread ; 
Beneath them dash'd, with ceaseless roar, 
A raging ocean, black with dread : 



95 

Yet o'er them with his spirit cheering, 
Lo ! Israel's God was present there ; 
To them, the children of his care. 
Was shown the sign of his appearing. 

CHORUS. 

They saw, they saw his form, 
They heard, they heard his voice ; 
They saw Him in the rushing storm, 
And lo ! their hearts rejoice. 

Before them fled the Indian wild, 
The affrighted panther left his lair. 
Each mountain, and each valley smii'd, 
For lo ! the Pilgrim's hand was there ; 
And there their ashes, calmly sleeping, 
Shall hallow the soil in which they lay, 
Till heaven and earth shall pass away : — 
Their sons are now their labors reaping. 

CHORUS. 

For truth, for truth they came. 

For truth their toils were borne ; 

They came, they came, their hearts resolv'd 

On liberty or death ! 



BY CHUK CHILL COFFING, ESQ. 

Almighty God ! at whose behest, 
The rolling years their cycles run ; 

Whose presence through all time confest ; 
Eternal and unchanging One ! 

Our fathers' God ! at whose command 

The Pilgrims sought New England's shore. 

Contented, on its barren strand. 
Thy name to worship and adore ; 



96 



Whose presence cheer'd, whose arm upheld 
Our fathers in that darksome hour ; 

And all the savage hosts inipell'd, 
Submissive to a Christian power ; 

"Who bade for them the deserts bloom, 
And blest the soil on which they trod ; 

And show'd through all their hours of gloom, 
Thyself an ever-helping God ; 

Who on their sons, with lavish hand, 

Through years by-gone, thy grace hath shed ; 

And on their rugged mountain land. 

Thy choicest blessings too, hath spread. 

Be Thou our Father, Thou our Friend ; 

And may the years new anthems raise, 
(Until the years themselves shall end,) 

To Thee, O God, be all the praise. 



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